President Moon welcomes new South Korean head of Interpol

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, congratulates the newly-elected head of Interpol Kim Jong-yang, center, for the appointment on Nov. 21 at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Korean National Police Agency's Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong attended the meeting as well. Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday welcomed the recent election of a South Korean as the new head of Interpol, calling it a victory for the entire nation.

"I sincerely congratulate and welcome your election as (Interpol) president," Moon said while meeting Kim Jong-yang, the newly elected head of Interpol, formerly the International Criminal Police Organization.

"I understand Interpol is the largest international organization with 194 member countries, bigger than the United Nations in terms of the number of member countries. You are a great source of pride for our nation since you were also elected by a large margin," the president said in the meeting held at his office Cheong Wa Dae.

In this photo provided by South Korea National Police Agency, South Korea's Kim Jong Yang speaks during the 87th Interpol General Assembly in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. Kim was elected as Interpol's president on Wednesday, edging out a longtime veteran of Russia's security services who was strongly opposed by other nations. Yonhap

Kim, 57, was elected the new head of Interpol last month, replacing Meng Hongwei of China, who disappeared three months ago. The South Korean is set to serve the remaining two years of Meng's original four-year term.

President Moon called for joint efforts to fight international crimes, including terrorism.

"I hope you will play a role of further enhancing Interpol's status by strengthening the cooperation between different countries to more effectively counter international crimes and terrorism," he said.

"The (Seoul) government too will work together with Interpol to expand its cooperation with Interpol," he added. (Yonhap)