South Korean President Pushes for Trump to Win Nobel Peace Prize
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that President Donald Trump deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in bringing about the denuclearization talks on the Korean peninsula and the possibility of an official end to decades-long war between North and South.
Moon reportedly refused to take credit for these hopeful signs when Lee Hee-ho, the widow of late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, stated in a congratulatory note he should win the prize, according to Reuters.
“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize,” Moon is said to have told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to a Korean official who briefed the media. “What we need is only peace.”
At a rally in Michigan on Saturday night, the crowd broke out into chants of “Nobel, Nobel, Nobel!” when Trump was discussing the issue the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
The president appeared surprised, amused and perhaps even touched by the sentiment.
“That’s very nice, thank you,” he said. “I just want to get the job done.”
“I’m not going to give you what actually will happen, because we don’t really know,” Trump offered. “But I tell you one thing, we’re not playing games.”
“We’ll be doing the world a big favor. Let’s see how it goes,” he said of bringing about denuclearization and peace on the Korean peninsula. “I think we’re going to do just fine.”
Trump also chided the “fake news” for trying to downplay his part in bringing about the talks.
“One of the fake news groups this morning,” Trump said, which elicited loud “boos” audience. He continued, “They were saying, ‘What do you think President Trump had to do with it?’ I tell you what, like how about everything.”
In January, Moon stated Trump “deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks. It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.”
Trump, in turn, on several occasions — including Saturday’s rally — has praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for restricting the flow of goods in North Korea.
Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un met Friday at Peace House in Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone.
Following their meeting, the two announced their goals to achieve a “nuclear-free Korean Peninsula” and their hope to officially end the Korean War by the end of the year.
“The Koreas also agreed to stop all hostile acts over “land, sea and air that cause military clashes and tensions,” Reuters reported.
As his administration prepares for direct talks with Kim over the few next weeks, Trump tweeted that numerous countries are being considered, but suggested the demilitarized zone between the Koreas might be the best location.
Numerous countries are being considered for the MEETING, but would Peace House/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a more Representative, Important and Lasting site than a third party country? Just asking!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018
Earlier this month, Kim announced the end of nuclear testing and intercontinental ballistic missile testing.
Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the Trump administration will maintain a “pressure campaign” of harsh sanctions until Kim scraps his nuclear weapons program altogether.
Just months into his presidency in 2009, Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
In 2015, former Nobel secretary Geir Lundestad told the Associated Press that he regretted giving the award to Obama, saying it was more aspirational, and doing so failed to achieve its intended result.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
