INSTANT VIEW-Trump ready to meet North Korea's Kim - South Korea

03/08/2018 21:01

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March 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is ready to meet
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by May in response to Kim's
invitation to hold the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit, a
South Korean envoy said, marking a potentially dramatic
breakthrough in the North Korea nuclear standoff.

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Following are reactions from politicians, officials and
analysts.

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM, REPUBLICAN, ON TWITTER:

"After numerous discussions with President Trump, I firmly
believe his strong stand against North Korea and its nuclear
aggression gives us the best hope in decades to resolve this
threat peacefully.

"I am not naïve. I understand that if the past is an
indication of the future, North Korea will be all talk and no
action. However, I do believe that North Korea now believes
President Trump will use military force if he has to.

"A word of warning to North Korean President Kim Jong Un –
the worst possible thing you can do is meet with President Trump
in person and try to play him. If you do that, it will be the
end of you – and your regime."

BONNIE GLASER, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES:

"Trump is a deal maker and probably believes he can
single-handedly convince Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear
weapons. A Trump meeting with Kim presents both risks and
opportunities. The U.S. side needs to be very, very well
prepared and know exactly what it wants to achieve, as well as
what the U.S. is willing to provide in return."

ED ROYCE, REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE

"Kim Jong Un's desire to talk shows sanctions the
administration has implemented are starting to work. We can
pursue more diplomacy, as we keep applying pressure
ounce-by-ounce. Remember, North Korean regimes have repeatedly
used talks and empty promises to extract concessions and buy
time. North Korea uses this to advance its nuclear and missile
programs. We've got to break this cycle. The United States and
South Korea must stand shoulder-to-shoulder in applying the
sustained pressure needed to peacefully end this threat. And
Beijing must do its part."

DANIEL RUSSEL, FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC:

"Let's hear from the North Koreans themselves what they are
proposing and what they are willing to do. There is plenty of
reason to be cautious, given their track record. Second, let's
read the fine print. The North has made peace overtures in the
past that did not hold up under scrutiny.

"Also remember that the DPRK has for many years proposed
that the President of the United States personally engage with
North Korea's leaders as an equal - one nuclear power to
another. What is new isn't the proposal, it's the response."

"The administration's maximum pressure campaign and rhetoric
may be yielding results. We should be very cautious: North Korea
has said these things before - Kim Jong Il wanted to meet with
President Clinton. Pyongyang has to be serious about
denuclearization. In the meantime the Trump administration
should continue using the toughest sanctions to maintain maximum
pressure before the summit in May."

MARKET COMMENTS

KO KWANG-HEE, DIRECTOR AT SOUTH KOREA’S FINANCE MINISTRY:

"It's a relief to markets and definitely boosts sentiment
but foreign investors would wait out until May to change any
major investment decisions as any real progress will be shown
then."

"It could give a positive signal to potentially relieve the
so-called Korea discount."

HONG CHUN-UK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, KIWOOM SECURITIES, SEOUL:

"It's good news. No doubt. But this will likely prove to be
only a short-lived factor unless more and stronger actions
follow. The market's (KOSPI) reaction appears stronger today
than usual, but all of this is not attributable to the North
Korea news. This came at a time when there is a growing hope
that earnings slowdown with Korean companies may be less severe
than expected before."

TRINH NGUYEN, SENIOR ECONOMIST, NATIXIS IN HONG KONG:

"This is certainly good news for financial markets,
particularly for South Korea, as it signals progress, although
the degree of thawing of tensions remain to be seen."

"We, and investors, have always believed that the North
Korea crisis would not materially impact investment in South
Korea as a conflict is unlikely even if tensions simmer."

"Investors will be cautious on excessive enthusiasm in a
similar vein to excessive pessimism in recent escalation of
tensions."

"This alleviates, at least for the short-term, one issue for
South Korea's growth recovery. In other words, we do not expect
this to change our growth projection for South Korea, which is
2.8 percent for 2018."

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Cynthia Kim and
Choonsik Yoo in Seoul; Masayuki Kitano in Singapore
Editing by John Mair and Kim Coghill)