SEOUL: New South Korean President Moon Jae-In spoke to the leaders of China and Japan on Thursday, hours after a telephone call with his US counterpart Donald Trump, officials and reports said, as he began shaping his approach to the nuclear-armed North. In a 40-minute conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the two agreed denuclearizing Pyongyang was a “common goal” between them, Moon’s office said. Moon also called for “dialogue along with sanctions and pressure” on the North to push Pyongyang to talks, Yoon said. The phone conversation came a day after Moon and US President Donald Trump agreed on “close cooperation” in dealing with the North’s nuclear ambitions in their first conversation Wednesday night. The US is the South’s security guarantor and has 28,500 troops stationed in the country, but Seoul was startled when Trump suggested it should pay for the $1 billion THAAD system.

Source: Manila Times May 11, 2017 06:33 UTC