South Korea’s leader said President Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and bring peace to the peninsula, according to a report on Monday.
“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,” President Moon Jae-in told senior secretaries, Reuters reported, citing an official in Seoul.
The remarks come after South Korean officials said North Korean President Kim Jong Un told them he would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons program if the United States vowed not to invade his country.
Kim made the comments during a meeting with Moon on Friday as the two pledged to end hostilities between the two countries and work toward “complete denuclearization.”
Trump is also expected to meet Kim in May or early June to discuss ending the standoff between the two countries.
The president imposed several rounds of tough economic sanctions against the regime for continuing to develop its weapons program and has lobbied leaders in the region, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to apply pressure on Kim.
Moon in January said Trump “deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks. It could be a resulting work of the US-led sanctions and pressure.”
On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham raised the idea that Trump should be a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize if he gets Kim to surrender his arms.
“President Trump, if he can lead us to ending the Korean War … and getting North Korea to give up their nuclear program, in a verifiable way, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and then some,” the South Carolina Republican said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
And at a campaign-style rally in Washington, Mich., on Saturday, a crowd of Trump supporters chanted “Nobel, Nobel, Nobel” as the president spoke.
“That’s very nice, thank you. That’s very nice,” Trump said.
Moon’s comment about Trump came in response to a message from Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, that said Moon deserved to win the award for his efforts to get Kim to sit down and talk peace.
Her husband won the Peace Prize in 2000 for his “sunshine policy” that led to a sit-down with former North Korean President Kim Jong-il.