South Korean leader to dine with Trump, meet top lawmakers

WASHINGTON (AP) — South Korea’s president readied for talks Thursday with congressional leaders and a White House dinner with President Donald Trump as he looks to reassure Washington that he will coordinate closely on dealing with the threat from North Korea.

President Moon Jae-in has long advocated engagement with North Korea to address its nuclear weapons development. His position could cause strains with Trump, who wants to step up economic pressure and further isolate the North diplomatically.

The U.S. and South Korea want to show they are on the same page as concern deepens over North Korea’s technological progress toward a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the continental U.S., and its lack of interest in negotiations aimed at dismantling its atomic arsenal.

Moon began his four-day visit, his first overseas trip since taking office last month, with a powerful symbolic show of his personal commitment to the U.S.-South Korean alliance.

He laid a wreath Wednesday at a memorial to Marines who fought in one of the fiercest battles of the Korean War, where a rearguard U.S. action enabled a mass evacuation of Korean civilians, including Moon’s parents.

Moon pledged to stand firmly with Trump. “Together we will achieve the dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear program, peace on the Korean Peninsula and eventually peace in Northeast Asia,” he said.

Moon’s conservative predecessor, who was impeached in a bribery scandal, took a hard line toward North Korea. Moon has sought to allay concerns that his softer stance could open fissures with Washington. He says sanctions alone cannot solve the problem, but the “right conditions” are needed for dialogue.