At UN, Moon pushes peace with N Korea
Never once mentioning missiles, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has again pushed for peace and reconciliation with North Korea at the United Nations, a week after recent missile testing on both ends of the peninsula renewed tensions between the two rivals.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in person in New York on Tuesday, Moon reiterated his push for a denuclearised coexistence and “co-prosperity” for the two countries that ended the three-year Korean War in a 1953 armistice that halted the fighting but never led to a formal declaration of peace.
“North Korea, for its part, must brace for changes that benefit the era of global community,” Moon said in his address. “I expect that the international community ... remain always ready and willing to reach out to North Korea in a cooperative spirit.”
A week ago, both countries tested ballistic missiles hours apart, underscoring rising tensions. South Korea’s tests included its first of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which came after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said North Korea had fired two ballistic missiles into the sea.
As Moon claimed South Korea’s growing missile capabilities will serve as a “sure deterrence” against North Korean provocations, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned of a “complete destruction” of bilateral relations if Moon continued with what she described as slander of North Korea. The back and forth unfolded as North Korea made waves this month with nuclear-capable missiles hidden in trains that can be launched anywhere along a railway, a new cruise missile resembling the US Tomahawk.