By Kang Ji-Hyun
President Moon Jae-in left for New York, Monday, to hold crucial talks with foreign leaders on how to address North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
During his five-day visit, he will deliver a keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly and hold summits with other leaders. Moon will ask for their support for his North Korea policy and for the latest U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution imposing tougher sanctions on Pyongyang.
This will be the first time for Moon to participate in a U.N. event, and his second visit to the U.S. following his previous visit for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., in June.
Since his last visit, the North Korean provocations have become more intense and frequent — the North has launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and two intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) and conducted its sixth nuclear test.
In the keynote speech he will make Thursday, he is expected to urge the international community to make concerted efforts for pressure on Pyongyang to push the Kim Jong-un regime forward for negotiations.
He will also express his gratitude toward the UNSC's latest adoption of a resolution that targeted oil headed to the North for the first time.
Following the speech, Moon will have a meeting with Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over lunch, the second such trilateral talks following the first in July on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany.
They are expected to reaffirm their cooperation on Pyongyang's denuclearization. They will also have to coordinate their stances over the issue because the three nations, which are directly involved in the North Korea issue, have often presented different voices.
Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, have repeatedly said their country can use military force if a peaceful solution is unavailable, and Abe said in a New York Times contribution Monday that he supports the U.S. position that all options are on the table.
But Moon has said he would not allow a war ever again on the Korean Peninsula, saying pressure is only a method to bring the North toward dialogue.
Seoul and Washington are also arranging separate bilateral talks between Moon and Trump.
Before his attendance at the General Assembly and at the summits, Moon will meet U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres upon his arrival in New York. They are expected to recognize the UNSC's effort to address the North Korea issue.
The President will also have a meeting with Korean residents in New York and New Jersey, Tuesday.
On Wednesday, he will meet International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and discuss cooperation between Seoul and the IOC over the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Moon will also receive the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council.
He will have a meeting with New York-based businesspeople for an "investor relations" event Thursday. The President will explain to the participants about the Korean economy in efforts to relieve their concerns over the "North Korea risk."
Then he will attend a promotion for the PyeongChang Olympics at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Moon is one of the honorary ambassadors of the PyeongChang Olympics.
kbs1345@naver.com
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