South Korean President Moon Jae-in is back in Seoul this morning following a two-nation Asian tour that took him to Singapore and Papua New Guinea for a series of mulitlateral forums.
For a look back at who he met and what was achieved during his nearly one week trip,... we turn to this report by Shin Se-min.
At the APEC Summit in Papua New Guinea,... President Moon Jae-in proposed a joint project called the Digital Innovation Fund,... aimed at fostering the Pacific Rim's digital capabilities.
He put forward his administration's economic and social policies as an exemplary case for APEC's common goal of inclusive growth.
The South Korean leader also reaffirmed his resolve to play a part in advancing sustainable growth in the region.
President Moon pressed ASEAN and Pacific Rim nations,... deemed relatively aloof when it comes to efforts to denuclearize North Korea,... to give him guarantees that they'll play their role in ensuring the regime makes progress on its commitment to abandon its nuclear weapons.
On the sidelines of the summits in Singapore and Papua New Guinea,... President Moon held bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
North Korea was a key topic,... especially as talks between Washington and Pyeongyang seem to have hit a deadlock.
Presidents Moon and Putin agreed on the need for reciprocal measures from the U.S. and others if the Kim Jong-un regime makes progress on denuclearization.
President Moon and Pence reaffirmed that talks between Pyeongyang and Washington are progressing well and Pence requested the South Korean leader to engage in closer communications with the Kim Jong-un regime.
At the summit between Presidents Moon and Xi,... the leaders both saw the second North Korea-U.S. summit and a planned reciprocal visit to Seoul by Kim Jong-un as crucial in resolving the denuclearization issue.
The only other leader from the region that President Moon did not meet with was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
This may have been due to the recent downturn in relations since Tokyo's angry response to South Korea's Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Korean victims of Japan's wartime system of forcing Koreans to work in Japanese factories.
Still,... with the majority of the key players sharing the common desire to keep the peace drive going,... it seems negotiations for a second North Korea-U.S. will finally get some traction.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.
