Moon's New Zealand visit focuses on trade, North Korea
President Moon Jae-in pays tribute at the Auckland Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand, Monday (KST), Dec. 3. Moon kicked off his three-day state visit, here. Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
AUCKLAND, New Zealand _ President Moon Jae-in kicked off an official visit here Monday (KST) during which he will meet with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, today, to discuss trade, cooperation and efforts to denuclearize North Korea.
Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrived in New Zealand late Sunday for a three-day state visit after participating in the G20 summit held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Moon visited New Zealand before he became president in 2006 and again in 2015.
A senior presidential aide told The Korea Times that Moon's agenda here will include thorough discussions on expanding bilateral ties. The President will also talk about links between South Korea's New Southern Policy and New Zealand's Pacific reset policy, aimed at countering the growing presence of China in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Moon will ask New Zealand to support his engagement-centric North Korean policy. As the four stakeholders in the North's denuclearization talks ― the United States, China, Japan and Russia ― hold different positions on the stalled negotiations, winning backing from other countries matters,” the presidential aide said asking not to be identified.
Moon will also discuss results of the G20 talks with his New Zealand counterpart. At the summit, the leaders of 20 advanced economies signed off on an agreement reaffirming a commitment to multilateral trade and a “rules-based international order.”
President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with New Zealand's opposition leader Simon Bridges at the start of an afternoon tea meeting held in the Cordis Hotel, Auckland, New Zealand, Monday (KST). Yonhap
New Zealand is involved in sanctions against North Korea, sending an Air Force P-3K2 maritime aircraft to patrol international waters in North Asia for signs of vessels undertaking any suspicious activities against them such as ship-to-ship transfers.
At the time of the deployment, its foreign minister Peters said New Zealand was committed to bringing a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and welcomed the recent dialogue that North Korea has had with the United States and South Korea.
New Zealand and South Korea signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in 2015, therefore, trade-related issues will also be discussed, said the presidential aide.
South Korea is New Zealand's fifth-largest goods trading partner. “South Korea will work together with New Zealand to explore projects in Antarctica, and they will find ways to collaborate in innovative science and technology,” the aide said, adding New Zealand is also home to a vibrant Korean community.
In the “New Southern Policy” initiative, an ambitious move pursued by the government for diplomatic diversification, Moon is seeking ways to expand South Korea's trading partnerships and cooperative ties.
On Monday, Moon met with opposition leader Simon Bridges and Korean-born lawmaker Melissa Lee. The President attended a state lunch hosted by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy at Government House.
Moon greeted Korean War veterans in Auckland and toured the Auckland War Memorial Museum. He also attended a wreath-laying ceremony.