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South Korean President Moon Jae-in has told the BBC that it is only a matter of time before the US and North Korea declare an end to their state of war on the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
The war ended in 1953 with an armistice but a peace treaty was never signed.<\/p>\n
Mr Moon, the son of North Korean refugees, also said there could be more diplomatic \u201cbumps and bruises\u201d as he tries to persuade Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
But he described Mr Kim as \u201ccandid\u201d.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the BBC\u2019s Laura Bicker in Seoul he also said he hoped European leaders would help him to mediate between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump if negotiations stalled.<\/p>\n
Mr Moon has met Mr Kim three times this year and has acted as a mediator between him and Mr Trump.<\/p>\n
He said that he had had \u201cample discussions\u201d with President Trump and other US officials about an end of war declaration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf North Korea takes certain measures, the end of war declaration would be a political statement that would announce that the longstanding hostile relations between Pyongyang and Washington had ended,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Moon said he wanted this to happen at the \u201cearliest possible date\u201d and he believed there was a \u201cshared understanding between Washington and Seoul regarding this view\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last month, he became the first South Korean leader to give a speech to the North Korean public during a trip to Pyongyang. He spoke at the Arirang Games \u2013 a major propaganda event \u2013 and received a standing ovation from 150,000 people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was actually quite nervous to give the speech,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to address the problem of denuclearization and had to receive positive vibes from the North Korean people. And also I had to satisfy the Korean public as well as the global public. So it was not an easy task for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that Mr Kim had not set any restrictions for the speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t even want to know what I was going to say before the speech. I believe this demonstrates the changes that are happening in North Korea right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Moon told the BBC that he became president of South Korea to help prevent war returning to the peninsula and said that he acutely felt the pain of war and separation.<\/p>\n
Mr Moon\u2019s parents fled North Korea in 1953 and they never saw their family again.<\/p>\n
Where are we in terms of negotiations?<\/p>\n
There have been ups and down since a landmark June meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump in Singapore saw an agreement to work toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula but with few specifics in terms of actions that would be taken.<\/p>\n
President Moon went to Pyongyang in September to reinvigorate the stalled negotiations.<\/p>\n
He returned with concessions that analysts said exceeded expectations. Mr Kim agreed to shut one of the country\u2019s main missile testing and launch sites \u2013 the Tongchang-ri facility. Significantly, North Korea said international experts would be able to observe and verify the dismantlement.<\/p>\n
The South\u2019s defence minister and the head of the North Korean army also signed an agreement to reduce military tensions, with a buffer zone to be established along the border to prevent accidental clashes.<\/p>\n
But the US has called for further actions \u2013 including a full disclosure of North Korea\u2019s weapons and nuclear facilities.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea for the fourth time on Sunday and held talks with Mr Kim.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there\u2019s still a long way to go and much work to do, we can now see a path where we will achieve [our] ultimate goal, which is the full and final verified denuclearisation of North Korea,\u201d he said on Tuesday at the White House.<\/p>\n
He added that international inspectors could soon be arriving at two North Korean nuclear sites.<\/p>\n
The second meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Kim will be held after the US mid-term elections, President Trump also said earlier this week.<\/p>\n
He has praised Mr Kim on several occasions and again asserted that they had a \u201cvery good relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2013<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has told the BBC that it is only a matter of time before the US and North Korea declare an end to their state of war on the Korean peninsula. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice but a peace treaty was never signed. Mr Moon, the son of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n