Statement of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano:

Meeting Between US President Trump and North Korean Leaders Kim Jong Un―A Bold Move That Could Produce Great Results

09 March 2018 — The Philippines welcomes the announcement of the acceptance by United States President Donald Trump of the invitation from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong Un for them to meet this May on the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

We join the rest of the international community in praying for a successful outcome of the meeting between the two leaders. This is a bold and unprecedented move that we hope would lead to reduced tensions in the Asia-Pacific Region.

We are 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.

The Philippines reiterates its readiness to play a constructive role in contributing to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula. END