Donald Trump ‘More Than Eligible For The Nobel Peace Prize’: South Korea

After President Donald Trump’s told reporters Friday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae acknowledged that the POTUS was a great candidate for the esteemed award.

Confirming that South Korean President Moon Jae-in did not personally nominate Trump for the peace prize, as the deadline for nominations had already expired, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a press briefing that the former held Trump in high regards for helping establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"However, it is President Moon's belief that (the U.S. president) is more than eligible for the Nobel Peace Prize as (Moon) has repeatedly stressed that President Trump has made great contributions to establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula by continuing North Korea-U.S. talks," Kim said, Yonhap News reported.

At a White House news conference, Trump revealed that he had received "the most beautiful copy" of a five-page nomination letter from Abe. "He [Shinzo] said, 'I have nominated you, respectfully, on behalf of Japan. I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize.' I said, 'Thank you,’” Trump said, NBC News reported.

Before that, the president had boasted during his State of the Union speech about how he had single-handedly stopped the U.S. from going into war with North Korea. “If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea,” he said. “Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one.”

A spokesman for Japan's Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said Sunday that it “would refrain from commenting on the interaction between the two leaders,” although it was aware of the remarks made by Trump. Japanese newspaper Asahi, on the other hand, said Abe had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after receiving a request from the U.S. government to do so, according to Japan Today.

The announcement came days before Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were set to hold their second summit in Vietnam's Hanoi on Feb. 27-28.

On Monday, Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling party, called the upcoming meeting a "historic turning point,” for the nation. "Our country is facing a historic turning point. It is time for us to tighten our shoe strings and run fast, looking for a higher target as we are facing a decisive moment,” the paper reported.

In its report, the paper also referenced an island called "edo" off the country's west coast where "stunning achievements" were made, emphasizing the regime’s commitment to economic developments.

“There are many areas around us that have better conditions than edo has,” Rodong Sinmun reported. “Why is edo making such stunning achievements, but some other areas stagnating unable to jump out of the swamp of defeatism. This is all about patriotism, conviction and will. With the nation-first sprit in mind, let's try to demonstrate our nation's dignity and stature to the world with every single creature."