South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the United Nations on Wednesday (September 26) praised his North Korean counterpart and U.S. President Donald Trump for encouraging "something miraculous" on the Korean peninsula, and urged the international community to support the process of denuclearization and ending the Korean War.
"Over the past year, something miraculous has taken place on the Korean peninsula. For the first time in history, the leader of North Koreacrossed the military demarcation line to visit Panmunjom," Moon said.
"Chairman Kim Jong Un and I removed the shadow of war and resolved to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity."
Moon thanked Kim and Trump for their "courage".
At a meeting last week with Moon, Kim promised to dismantle a missile site and also a nuclear complex if the United States took "corresponding action."
"North Korea moved out of long-standing isolation on its own initiative and stands before the international community once again. Now it is the international community's turn to respond positively to North Korea's new choices and efforts. We must assure Chairman Kim that he has made the right decision in committing to denuclearization. We must encourage North Korea to stay on the path that leads to permanent and solid peace," he said.
Kim's commitments and actions so far have fallen far short of Washington's demands for a complete inventory of North Korea's weapons programs and irreversible steps to give up a nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States.
Trump has nevertheless heaped personal praise on Kim and expressed enthusiasm for a second summit.
On Monday, he said he expected this to be announced "pretty soon" but that the location had yet to be determined. (Reuters)
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