SKorea looks to jumpstart diplomacy in NKorea standoff
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — In an effort to jumpstart diplomacy, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he would consider sending a special envoy to North Korea for talks if the North stops its missile and nuclear tests.
He also declared, amid fears in South Korea that threats from President Donald Trump to unleash “fire and fury” on Pyongyang could lead to real fighting, that there would be no second war on the Korean Peninsula.
“The people worked together to rebuild the country from the Korean War, and we cannot lose everything again because of a war,” Moon said in a nationally televised news conference. “I can confidently say there will not be a war again on the Korean Peninsula.”
Moon’s comments follow a spike in animosity generated by North Korea’s warning that it might send missiles into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam, and Trump’s warlike language. Both Koreas and the United States have signalled in recent days, however, a willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations.