By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye said Monday that she will highlight the issue of unification of the two Koreas at the United Nations General Assembly next week.
Park will visit New York on Friday through Monday and deliver a keynote speech to world leaders on Sept. 28.
"I expect this session of the General Assembly to help raise the international community's understanding of peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula and matters of Northeast Asia through in-depth discussions," Park said during a meeting with senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae.
The remarks came weeks after she said, after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, that South Korea will begin talks with China about how to achieve peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula as early as possible.
"Park's attendance at the U.N. General Assembly is expected to contribute to promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia by spreading the nation's unification and diplomatic policies to the international community," a presidential aide said.
Park will also attend the Sustainable Development Summit from Sept. 25 to 27, during which she will also deliver an address on Sept. 26.
"I will further enhance our status and national interest by showing commitment to making contributions to global issues, including climate change," she said.
‘Economy overshadowed by pessimism'
Touching on the economy, she said the economy is overshadowed by excessive pessimism.
"We need to get out of excessive criticism," Park said. "Despite the lingering negative views on the nation's economy, we have displayed stronger economic performance than others, as evidenced by Standard & Poor's recent upgrade of its credit rating."
Last week, the global credit appraiser raised Korea's sovereign rating one notch from "A+" to "AA-," citing its future growth potential and a decline in external debt.
The President's call came because there is speculation that Korea may face financial jolts, triggered by the raising of U.S. interest rates and China's slowing economy ― although the U.S. decided to keep the rate hike on hold last week.
Park added that her government's efforts to normalize the sluggish economy have paid off, gaining international recognition.
"Last year's economic growth ranked fourth among 34 OECD members and the national income increased also hit a five-year high," she said.
"The nation's financial soundness is satisfactory, compared with those of other countries."
Last week, the union, management and government representatives passed an agreement to revamp the labor market and the ruling Saenuri followed up with five labor law amendments, including extending employment of non-regular workers to up to four years.
"The passage of the bills means the completion of the Tripartite Commission's agreement," Park said, urging officials to take follow-up measures regarding the labor market reform.
Park also urged the National Assembly not to squander the opportunity for future generations.
The Park administration has called for labor market reform to create more jobs for young people and revive the sluggish economy, stressing that sustainable growth depends on tackling youth unemployment.
As part of measures to address a lack of jobs for young people, Park proposed a fund aimed at creating jobs for them last week and she donated 20 million won to the fund, Cheong Wa Dae said after the meeting.
Park will also contribute 20 percent of her monthly salary to the fund, or approximately 3.4 million won, Park's office added.
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| President Park |
Park will visit New York on Friday through Monday and deliver a keynote speech to world leaders on Sept. 28.
"I expect this session of the General Assembly to help raise the international community's understanding of peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula and matters of Northeast Asia through in-depth discussions," Park said during a meeting with senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae.
The remarks came weeks after she said, after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, that South Korea will begin talks with China about how to achieve peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula as early as possible.
"Park's attendance at the U.N. General Assembly is expected to contribute to promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia by spreading the nation's unification and diplomatic policies to the international community," a presidential aide said.
Park will also attend the Sustainable Development Summit from Sept. 25 to 27, during which she will also deliver an address on Sept. 26.
"I will further enhance our status and national interest by showing commitment to making contributions to global issues, including climate change," she said.
‘Economy overshadowed by pessimism'
Touching on the economy, she said the economy is overshadowed by excessive pessimism.
"We need to get out of excessive criticism," Park said. "Despite the lingering negative views on the nation's economy, we have displayed stronger economic performance than others, as evidenced by Standard & Poor's recent upgrade of its credit rating."
Last week, the global credit appraiser raised Korea's sovereign rating one notch from "A+" to "AA-," citing its future growth potential and a decline in external debt.
The President's call came because there is speculation that Korea may face financial jolts, triggered by the raising of U.S. interest rates and China's slowing economy ― although the U.S. decided to keep the rate hike on hold last week.
Park added that her government's efforts to normalize the sluggish economy have paid off, gaining international recognition.
"Last year's economic growth ranked fourth among 34 OECD members and the national income increased also hit a five-year high," she said.
"The nation's financial soundness is satisfactory, compared with those of other countries."
Last week, the union, management and government representatives passed an agreement to revamp the labor market and the ruling Saenuri followed up with five labor law amendments, including extending employment of non-regular workers to up to four years.
"The passage of the bills means the completion of the Tripartite Commission's agreement," Park said, urging officials to take follow-up measures regarding the labor market reform.
Park also urged the National Assembly not to squander the opportunity for future generations.
The Park administration has called for labor market reform to create more jobs for young people and revive the sluggish economy, stressing that sustainable growth depends on tackling youth unemployment.
As part of measures to address a lack of jobs for young people, Park proposed a fund aimed at creating jobs for them last week and she donated 20 million won to the fund, Cheong Wa Dae said after the meeting.
Park will also contribute 20 percent of her monthly salary to the fund, or approximately 3.4 million won, Park's office added.
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