UN chief asked to broker talks with N. Korea
President Moon Jae-in gives animal mascots for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games as a present to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a meeting at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Tuesday. / Yonhap
Guterres supports diplomatic solution for N. Korea issue
By Kim Rahn
South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to broker talks with North Korea to resolve the tension surrounding the peninsula, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.
Guterres stressed that a diplomatic solution and the international community’s unity in addressing the North’s nuclear and missile threats were necessary.
Moon and Guterres discussed the issue in a meeting Tuesday during the President’s visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly.
The meeting came about a week after the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) adopted a new resolution with tougher sanctions on Pyongyang following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.
Guterres said he has paid attention to the new South Korean government’s North Korea policy, according to presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun. “Guterres expressed support for the denuclearization of the peninsula and the full implementation of the UNSC resolution,” Park said. “He stressed the issue should be addressed through the international community’s unity and a diplomatic solution, not a military one.”
In response, Moon requested the U.N. chief play an active role in the resolution of the issue fundamentally and comprehensively.
The request came after Guterres said in mid-August, after North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, that he would broker talks with North Korea. “My good offices are always available, and I conveyed this message yesterday to the representatives of the six-party talks,” he told reporters Aug. 16.
Park said Guterres agreed on the need for the international community’s stern action considering the seriousness of the North Korea issue. “Along with U.N. members’ cooperation to carry out the UNSC resolution, he said he would make efforts as soon as possible to address the issue through close cooperation with Seoul.”
Regarding Moon’s request for “efforts to broker dialogue,” Park said it did not specifically refer to inter-Korean talks or talks between the U.S. and North Korea. The two also did not discuss Guterres visiting Pyongyang himself or sending a special envoy, according to Park.
After talks with Guterres, Moon met 300 Koreans living in the New York area.
He said he understands their concerns over the North Korea issue in their homeland. “It is a difficult task, but I’ll make every effort for peace, so overseas Koreans like you will be relieved,” the President said.
Moon also called for their support to promote the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be held in February.
“Ironically, sporting events held in Korea, one of the world’s last divided countries, have always become occasions for global peace and harmony,” he said, adding that Eastern and Western nations during the Cold War participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and South Korea and Japan set a future-oriented cooperative relationship during the 2002 World Cup.
“I believe the PyeongChang Olympics will be an event of peace and unity for the world, and an occasion to heal South Korean citizens who underwent a harsh political convulsion last winter,” he said, referring to the presidential corruption scandal involving his predecessor Park Geun-hye.
On Wednesday, Moon will have a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and multiple bilateral talks with leaders of several countries. He will also attend an awards ceremony to receive the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council.