On the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings in Singapore,...President Moon Jae-in is sitting down with leaders from not only Asia, but around the world.
In a little over an hour from now,... President Moon is set for talks with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Our Shin Se-min, who is traveling with the president, files this report from Singapore.
On day three of his stay in Singapore,... President Moon is to sit down with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN-related summits.
The main topic of their conversation. North Korea.

"President Moon, attending the ASEAN-related Summit meetings,... will hold talks with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday morning. They will discuss measures to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula as well as ways to build on our bilateral relations."

It's being viewed as the most important of President Moon's upcoming sideline meetings,... as these are the first high-level face-to-face talks between South Korea and the U.S. since the postponement of talks last week between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-chol.
The direction of the process hangs in the balance as Pence recently wrote an Op-ed for the Washington Post saying the U.S. has no intention of letting up on its unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressure on Pyeongyang.
Earlier, President Moon also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday,... where the two discussed easing sanctions on North Korea.
President Moon said there has to be substantial progress on denuclearization and the peace process ahead of a scheduled visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
On the possibility of Kim visiting Russia,... South Korea's presidential spokesperson, quoting Putin, said Kim is interested and relevant discussions between Pyeongyang and Moscow are underway.
President Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also scheduled to hold talks this week in Papua New Guinea on the sidelines of the annual APEC Summit.

“From Putin to Pence and Xi,… President Moon has lined up big summit meetings with key players in North Korea diplomacy. The discussion with Vice President Pence will include how diplomacy with the North goes forward in view of the results of the midterm elections.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News, Singapore."