--- description: South Korean president Moon Jae-in plans to ask the U.S. to ease sanctions on North Korea, according to reports in Korean media. title: South Korea's President 'Wants to Ease Sanctions on Kim' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta63b739b330369e6/698947ebb3fce30b750c369a/trump-moon-ease-north-korea-sanctions.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Korean Peninsula](/tag/korean-peninsula/) ## Korean Peninsula Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # South Korea's President Plans to Ask Trump to Ease Sanctions on Kim Jong Un by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:03 AM CUTPublished: Apr 8, 2019 8:08 AM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) during an arrival outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. in June 30, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) during an arrival outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. in June 30, 2017.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:03 AM CUTPublished: Apr 8, 2019 8:08 AM CUT Moon Jae-in plans to ask the U.S. [to ease sanctions](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/04/103%5F266754.html "undefined") on North Korea when he meets President Donald Trump at the White House this week, say unnamed South Korean officials cited by _The_ _Korea_ _Times_. The South Korean president is visiting Washington D.C. for a [summit on North Korean nuclear diplomacy,](http://time.com/5561013/south-korea-president-moon-jae-in-donald-trump-nuclear-summit-washington/ "undefined") where the two leaders are expected to discuss how to achieve the denuclearization of the north and peace on the Korean Peninsula. “Moon plans to embrace the risk of personal diplomacy by asking Trump to grant reciprocal measures after Seoul and Washington laid out the necessary groundwork via working-level discussions,” a South Korean official told the _Korea_ _Times_. Although it remains to be seen which sanctions Moon might ask the U.S. to revoke first, officials said he is likely to focus on those that impact the country’s citizens. “It’s likely President Moon may raise the lessening of sanctions that affect the lives of the North Korean people,” an official said, according to the _Korea Times_. [Moon](http://time.com/4766618/moon-jae-in-the-negotiator/ "undefined"), who made TIME’s shortlist for [person of the year](http://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-moon-jae-in-runner-up/ "undefined") in 2018, has played an active role in peace talks with Seoul’s northern neighbor. U.S. diplomacy efforts with North Korea have stalled since Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un’s [second summit](http://time.com/5541197/quick-read-bremmer-north-korea-summit/ "undefined") in Hanoi in February ended abruptly with [no deal](http://time.com/5540780/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-north-korea-summit-no-deal/ "undefined"). **Read More:** [_Kim Jung Un Just Visited His Father’s Birthplace. that Could Be a Sign that He’s Up to Something_](http://time.com/5564067/north-korea-kim-jong-un-father-birthplace/ "undefined") Trump said he walked away from talks because North Korea asked for the removal of all sanctions before Pyongyang agreed to full denuclearization, but North Korean officials later disputed the claim, and said that they had only asked for the U.S. to move on restrictions related to its [civilian economy](http://time.com/5552190/north-korea-hanoi-launch-moratorium/ "undefined"). In mid-March, just a few weeks after the failed summit, Kim said that he was considering [ending nuclear talks](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/north-korea-warns-it-may-end-nuclear-talks-us/585115/ "undefined") with the U.S. and resuming nuclear and [missile testing](http://time.com/5546740/north-korea-icbm-uranium-sanumdong-vehicle-activity/ "undefined"). **Correction, April 10** **_The original version of this story misstated the name of the newspaper that reported on Moon Jae-in’s plans. It is_** **The Korea Times,** **_not_** **the Korean Times.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5565816/south-north-korea-trump-kim-moon-sanctions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5565816/south-north-korea-trump-kim-moon-sanctions/"},"headline":"South Korea's President Plans to Ask Trump to Ease Sanctions on Kim Jong Un","datePublished":"2019-04-08T08:08:15.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T00:03:15.000Z","description":"Moon Jae-in will reportedly raise the issue when he visits the White House this week","url":"https://time.com/5565816/south-north-korea-trump-kim-moon-sanctions/","keywords":["Korean Peninsula","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta63b739b330369e6/698947ebb3fce30b750c369a/trump-moon-ease-north-korea-sanctions.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta63b739b330369e6/698947ebb3fce30b750c369a/trump-moon-ease-north-korea-sanctions.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"trump-moon-ease-north-korea-sanctions","caption":"Trump Moon Ease North Korea Sanctions","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/korean-peninsula/","name":"Korean Peninsula"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5565816/south-north-korea-trump-kim-moon-sanctions/","name":"South Korea's President Plans to Ask Trump to Ease Sanctions on Kim Jong Un"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump to Host South Korea's President for Nuclear Diplomacy Summit in April","description":"South Korea says its president will travel to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump for a summit on North Korean nuclear diplomacy.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PeSflypw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-03-29T06:22:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PeSflypw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5565816/south-north-korea-trump-kim-moon-sanctions/","duration":"PT28S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5565816/south-north-korea-trump-kim-moon-sanctions/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```