President Moon conducts first phone-call with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping

문 대통령 시진핑과 첫 통화 40여분간 북핵 문제 등 논위, 중국 방문 초청 South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over the phone on Thursday, as well as Japan's Shinzo Abe. As our Kim Jung-soo reports, they discussed matters of both international and regional signifiance and affirmed that they will maintain close diplomatic ties under the new administration in Seoul. On his second day in office, President Moon Jae-in spoke on the phone with the leaders of South Korea's two most important neighbors: China, followed by Japan. South Korea's relationship with China has been tense in recent months due to the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system THAAD, which China sees as compromising its military interests. Presidents Moon and Xi began their conversation at around noon and spoke for about 40 minutes. The two quickly got down to the major issues at hand, including the deployment of key components of the THAAD battery last month, as well as North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Regarding THAAD, President Moon reportedly asked Xi to consider easing the restrictions China has placed on South Korean companies in the country. He also told President Xi that the controversy over THAAD could be resolved much more efficiently if North Korea would stop its missile tests, the latest of which occured less than two weeks ago. As for curbing North Korea's nuclear and military ambitions, both leaders agreed they should be willing to negotiate with the regime, but also enforce sanctions if necessary. Moon also told Xi that he will soon send a special delegation to Beijing to discuss the issues of THAAD and North Korea. And just hours later, Moon spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where they promised to work on improving bilateral ties. Relations with Japan have also been rocky despite an agreement reached between the two governments in 2015 regarding reparations for South Korean women forced into sexual slavery during Japan's colonial rule. Moon informed Abe that the majority of Korean people are not satisfied with that agreement,...in which Japan declined to admit "legal responsibility" for the violation of those women and girls, and also refused to characterize the deal's transfer of some 8.3 million dollars to the Korean government as "compensation" for the victims. Abe, in return, told Moon that the signed agreement should be respected, but also invited the South Korean president to visit Tokyo for further talks. Kim Jung-soo, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS):   / newsarirang   Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook:   / arirangtv   Twitter:   / arirangworld   Instagram:   / arirangworld