South Korea’s Moon not representing US interests in upcoming summit – Wall Street Journal

As reported by the Wall Street Journal,   South Korea’s President, Moon Jae-in, who has inserted himself into the US-North Korea talks process, doesn’t share similar goals with the US over North Korea and its denuclearization.

South Korean leader Moon claims to be the mediator between the White House and Pyongyang, but it isn’t clear he’s representing the U.S. position. Instead he is pressing the U.S. to give benefits to North Korea in return for mere steps toward denuclearization. He has adopted the North’s position that the negotiations should agree to “phased and synchronous measures,” meaning the North gets benefits in exchange for incremental steps such as allowing inspectors to visit nuclear sites.

 – Wall Street Journal

Adding further confusion to the mix is the White House’s flip-flopping on what its stance on North Korea is; a major new sanctions push on North Korea, which was supposed to begin happening by Tuesday, was waived off indefinitely sometime on Monday as talks between the two countries resume.