Moon Jae-in of the liberal Minjoo Party waves during a celebration event in Seoul, South Korea, on May 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)
The White House announced on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump will host South Korean President Moon Jae-in late this month for talks on the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue.
During the June 29-30 talks, Trump and Moon will "coordinate on" the Democratic People's Republic of Korea-related (DPRK) issues, including countering the "growing" DPRK nuclear and missile threats, said a White House statement.
The two leaders will also discuss ways to further strengthen the "ironclad U.S.-ROK alliance," advance cooperation on economic and global issues, the statement added.
Moon, who took office about a month ago, was widely forecast to inherit a so-called "Sunshine Policy" of trying to enhance relations with the DPRK through economic cooperation and civilian exchanges.
Tension has remained high on the Korean Peninsula over the past months between the United States and the DPRK over the U.S. threat to stage military attacks against Pyongyang in response to its nuclear and missile programs.
The United States and South Korea also held their largest-ever joint military exercises in the past months. At the end of April, the USS Carl Vinson nuclear aircraft carrier task group arrived in the waters off the Korean Peninsula for a separate joint naval exercise with South Korea.
However, a joint statement by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said in April that Trump aims to use economic sanctions and diplomatic measures to pressure the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs.
The statement also said that the United States remained "open to negotiations" toward peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while staying "prepared to defend ourselves and our allies."
