 |
|
South Korean President Moon Jae-in holds a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Oct. 15. (provided by the Blue House)
|
S. Korean president contributes column to L'Osservatore Romano on inter-Korean peace
“Through peace, we will transform division and confrontation into prosperity. I also hope that exchange will be further promoted between the Vatican and North Korea,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Oct. 16 during his tour of Europe. “The prayers and blessings of His Holiness the Pope have been a great source of encouragement and hope in the Korean people’s journey toward peace on the Korean Peninsula in 2018,” Moon said in a column published on Tuesday in L'Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of Vatican City in Rome. Pope Francis has expressed his support for the Korean Peninsula at every available opportunity. Two days after the inter-Korean summit on Apr. 27, he said that he supports “the courageous decision by the leaders of South and North Korea,” and shortly before the North Korea-US summit in June, he expressed his “hope that a future of peace would be guaranteed for the Korean Peninsula and the world.” “As we walk down an untrodden path in order to usher in a new age of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, I have always borne in mind His Holiness Pope Francis’s emphasis on using ‘the foreign policy of meetings’ to pursue peace and reconciliation. I believe that the Catholic Church will be a dependable partner for the Korean Peninsula as we pursue engagement,” Moon added. Moon appears to have had North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s invitation of Pope Francis in mind when he wrote this column. During the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, Moon suggested that Kim invite the Pope to North Korea. Kim indicated his willingness to invite the Pope to Pyongyang and promised to give him a warm welcome. In related news, the Blue House announced that Moon would be holding separate summits with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha while visiting Belgium on Oct. 19 to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Considering that the UK is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Moon is likely to vouch for North Korea’s sincerity about denuclearization during his summit with May and to attempt to persuade her to take steps to ease UN sanctions on the North once it has taken irreversible steps toward denuclearization. Moon appears to be focusing on launching a public discussion about easing sanctions. During his earlier meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Oct. 15, he said that “once we decide that North Korea has reached the point where its denuclearization is irreversible, we should promote denuclearization by easing UN sanctions.” By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co]
