외교•통일장관 "폼페이오 방북 취소에도 文 평양 가야해"

Some may be thinking, perhaps this is not a great time for President Moon to go on with the scheduled summit in Pyongyang.
And then there are top officials who believe things should proceed as planned, to help turn things around amid the current stalled situation.
Kim Mok-yeon provides a closer look.
South Korea's foreign and unification ministers say the South Korean government needs to prepare for and go ahead with the upcoming inter-Korean summit... so it can contribute to denuclearization.
At a parliamentary hearing of the budget committee on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that with progress towards denuclearization seeming to slow down, President Moon Jae-in's visit to Pyongyang for talks in September could play a big role.

"With no apparent progress on North Korea's denuclearization, the burden on South Korea is big. If things aren't going so well for the North and the U.S., then the South Korean President absolutely has a role."

She noted that the lack of notable developments in the North's disarmament was the reason U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's abruptly canceled his trip there.
But she added that Pyongyang and Washington still have momentum for dialogue.
When the questions turned to Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyon, Cho agreed with the foreign minister,... saying it's now all the more crucial for President Moon to go to Pyongyang.

"Now that Pompeo's trip is canceled, September's inter-Korean talks are even more important for denuclearization."

He said that just like how the two Korean leaders made a breakthrough at their talks in May, at a time when Washington had canceled its scheduled summit with North Korea, the next Moon-Kim summit could also get things moving again.
Asked whether Washington agreed with an inter-Korean summit taking place next month, the foreign minister said that since the summit was agreed to in the Panmunjom Declaration, the United States will fully understand.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.