President Moon Jae-in, currently in Germany for the annual Group of 20 summit, met with his German counterparts on the first day of his trip and reconfirmed partnership between the two states, focusing on peace on the peninsula and energy policies.

Moon attended separate meetings with German Federal Republic President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and de facto state chief Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday afternoon, local time.

“In order to deter North Korea’s provocations, stronger international sanctions and pressure are needed, an issue which I wish to discuss at the G-20 summit,” Moon said during the summit with Merkel.

“But in the end, I believe that the North Korean nuclear problem should be solved in a peaceful way, and for this I ask for your full support and cooperation.”

The German leader reciprocated by advocating Moon’s plans for peace on the peninsula, acknowledging his gesture to assume a leading role in the inter-Korean issue.

The two state chiefs also agreed that their bilateral partnership in the economic field should be expanded in the new and renewable energy sector so as to trigger new sustainable growth momentum for the future.

President Moon vowed last month to convert the nation’s energy sources to environment-friendly ones, a move which seemed to take after Germany’s decision in 2011 to completely abolish nuclear power.

Both also agreed that employment should be a high priority in a nation’s socioeconomic vision.

Moon presented the South Korean government’s restructuring plan to establish a new ministry devoted to small-sized enterprises as part of his plan to pull up and sustain the nation’s employment rate. Merkel earlier came up with a road map to achieve full employment by 2025.

“I believe that (South Korea) much resembles Germany, which was home to the social market economy model,” Moon said, calling for joint efforts from both countries on economic agendas.

Highly anticipated to win her fourth term as chancellor this September, Merkel will likely remain Moon’s counterpart throughout most of his five-year presidency. Under Germany’s parliamentary government system, executive administrative powers are mostly bestowed upon the chancellor while the president assumes a symbolic role.

In a separate meeting with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Moon reiterated his pledge to adopt a two-way track approach with North Korea by responding to its military provocations with stronger sanctions while maintaining peaceful communication.

“I am concerned that the persisting nuclear and missile provocations from the North will ratchet tension and lead to a military clash. Never again should there be a war on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said.

It is for such reasons that South Korea, along with the international community, should not renounce efforts to bring the North back to the negotiating table, he added.

“Germany has not only overcome its division, but also has experience in arbitrating the US and Iran to solve the latter’s nuclear problem,” Moon said, requesting for Germany’s advice on denuclearization talks with North Korea.

Steinmeier, who previously served as foreign minister, first from 2005-2009 and later from 2013-2017, expressed concerns over the recent situation of the Korean Peninsula.

“It is true that the possibility of inter-Korean unification has diminished,” he said, nevertheless urging Korea to keep up hope.


By Bae Hyun-jung
Korea Herald correspondent
(tellme@heraldcorp.com)