Report: Trump, Moon U.N. summit tentatively set for Monday

Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in is likely to take place Monday during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a South Korean press report.

Segye Ilbo reported Tuesday Trump and Moon are to meet to discuss the possibility of resuming dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. Talks have stalled between two sides since Trump met with Kim Jong Un at an impromptu summit in June at the border village of Panmunjom.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the recent South Korean decision to not renew GSOMIA, the military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, and renegotiation of cost sharing for U.S. troops on the peninsula. Trump has said allies like Seoul and Tokyo should pay more.

Speculation is growing in Seoul about whether North Korea will skip the general debate of the U.N. General Assembly, despite an earlier statement from South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha that did not rule out Kim's attendance at the annual U.N. event.

North Korea is listed as scheduled to attend on Saturday, according to an agenda from the United Nations, but Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is unlikely to attend, according to the Segye Ilbo.

Ri could also choose to attend the General Assembly at the last minute, however, the South Korean newspaper said.

Moon is traveling to New York at a time when domestic politics in South Korea are increasingly divided over the appointment of new Justice Minister Cho Kuk, and the historical past.

Yonhap reported Tuesday opposition Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn defended the legacy of former President Park Chung Hee, a dictator who imprisoned political dissidents but also oversaw South Korea's economic rise.

Hwang's comments came the same day Moon said he would designate Oct. 16 as a memorial day for anti-Park demonstrations, the Bu-Ma Democratic Protests of 1979, according to News 1.

The protests took place Oct.16-20, 1979, in Busan and Masan in southern Korea. Park declared martial law in response to the protests.