MANILA— The Philippine government welcomed the acceptance of US President Donald Trump to the invitation of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong Un for a meeting this May on the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
In a statement Friday night, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano regarded the upcoming meeting as “bold move” but noted it poses great result towards peaceful negotiation in the region.
“We join the rest of the international community in praying for a successful outcome of the meeting between the two leaders,” he said.
“This is a bold and unprecedented move that we hope would lead to reduced tensions in the Asia-Pacific Region.”
Cayetano said the government is also encouraged by developments related to the inter-Korean dialogue initiative arising from the recent high-level visit of a delegation from the Republic of Korea to Pyongyang last Monday and Tuesday.
“The Philippines hopes that this would lead to a tangible movement towards addressing the Korean Peninsula issue,” he said as he reiterated the government’s “readiness to play a constructive role” in contributing to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.
The government had been an advocate towards the peaceful resolution on tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
In 2017, Manila played host to North Korea’s top diplomat at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF), the lone security summit where Pyongyang sends its foreign ministers to engage with counterparts from other nations. (PNA)
