Moon Chung-in, the top adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said Wednesday Seoul wants to "solve issues" between Pyongyang and Washington. File Photo by Yonhap/EPA
Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Moon Chung-in, the outspoken presidential aide and academic who has previously criticized the state of U.S.-South Korea relations, said an end-of-war declaration could be signed before complete North Korea denuclearization.
The top adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in who previously denied he favors U.S. troop withdrawal from the peninsula, told local television network MBC on Wednesday that a North Korean disclosure of a "nuclear list" would be sufficient for the United States to sign an end-of-war declaration.
Moon Chung-in suggested his statement reflects U.S. opinion Washington may have disclosed to Seoul, according to the report.
South Korean envoys in Pyongyang on Wednesday could be in North Korea to deliver that message, the top adviser said.
A five-member delegation, including national security chief Chung Eui-yong, delivered a letter from Moon Jae-in to Kim Jong Un, part of a larger goal to narrow the gap between the United States and North Korea, according to MBC.
Washington has said it wants complete denuclearization to come before the declaration, while Pyongyang insists an agreement to end the 1950-53 Korean War must be signed before it makes any concessions.
"The basic position of the [South Korean] government is to simultaneously solve issues on both sides. I believe the special delegation [in Pyongyang] is trying to persuade" the North, Moon Chung-in told MBC.
He said it is likely the United States is not ruling out an end-of-war declaration if North Korea promises to disclose the status of its nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles.
"We are not asking the North to disclose everything immediately, but instead saying if they have the will to report their nuclear facilities, material and ballistic missiles, and show commitment, then [the United States] could say okay to negotiations for an end-of-war declaration...I think sufficient negotiations could take place with the United States."
The presidential aide said the status quo, including the military demarcation line between North and South and the United Nations Command, would be unaffected by an end-of-war declaration.
On Tuesday ahead of the delegation's visit, North Korea's foreign ministry said the declaration would signal "political will" to establish a "peace regime" on the peninsula, according to the Chosun Ilbo.
"Building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula is an urgent need for our times," Pyongyang said on the ministry website, according to the Chosun.
