Our top story this morning...
President Moon Jae-in departs for Washington this Wednesday for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Both leaders hope their talks at the White House can be the catalyst to get stalled diplomacy with North Korea back on track.
Shin Se-min tells us more.
Embarking on a whistle-stop trip to Washington for a North Korea-focused summit with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump,... President Moon Jae-in's mission is to hammer home the importance of the "top-down" approach used so far in the denuclearization talks and the need for North Korea and the U.S. to start communicating again.
The South Korean leader is set to leave for Washington on Wednesday afternoon-- for what will be his seventh face-to-face with President Trump.
"This summit is based on the need for both sides to consult with each other and revive the momentum for dialogue after the Hanoi summit. In the U.S., President Moon will continue his top-down approach and look for concrete ways to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
This summit comes at a time when there seems to be consensus both Seoul and Washington can get nuclear diplomacy back on track-- even though the most recent meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. ended with no concrete outcome in February.
South Korea's First Couple will arrive in Washington on April 10th local time,... upon which President Moon will meet with Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton, respectively.
All three, like President Trump,... have been vocal about pushing for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Then the summit between Presidents Moon and Trump will take place for about two hours at the White House.
It will be followed by an extended meeting with senior presidential aides.
Though not fully disclosed,... it's likely President Moon may raise the need to loosen sanctions on Pyeongyang -- or provide incentives to North Korea that makes life easier for ordinary North Koreans.
The leaders may also cover their military cost-sharing framework as well as bilateral trade issues.
"Bringing the leaders Kim and Trump back to the negotiating table might not be too hard, since they've met before and neither has shot down the idea.
But the big unknown is whether or not Moon's trip this week will help find a middle ground between Trump's all-or-nothing strategy and Kim's small-deal approach.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News."