(Yonhap Forum) Trump expected to send message to N. Korea in DMZ: S. Korean PM

SEOUL, June 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to deliver a message to North Korea during his possible visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that bisects the two Koreas.

Lee also said the government believes there should be meaningful progress for North Korea's denuclearization to enable the international community to ease sanctions on the North.

"Trump is reportedly expected to send some message to North Korea in the DMZ," Lee said in his speech at the 5th Yonhap News Symposium on Korean Peace.

President Moon Jae-in will hold a summit with Trump on Sunday in Seoul, the eighth meeting between the leaders, amid an impasse in denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea.

Many expect Trump to visit the DMZ, which serves as the border between South and North Korea, after the summit.

Trump and Kim recently exchanged personal letters, raising the prospects that Washington and Pyongyang resume their stalled talks following the breakdown of their summit in February in Vietnam.

The prime minister said Moon has made efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, including holding three summits with Kim, but the implementation of the summit declarations have faced limitations amid the stalled process for the North's denuclearization and the sanctions regime.

"The government has faithfully implemented U.N. sanctions resolutions," Lee said. "To ease them, we think that North Korea's denuclearization should make progress in a meaningful manner."

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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