By Kim Young-shin and Kim Min-Jeung

President Moon Jae-in said on Sept. 7 that he’s pushing for “irrevocable” progress on efforts to bring about denuclearization and a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula by the end of this year. He said he wants to see “a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War being made within this year, which marks the 65th anniversary of the armistice, as part of trust-building measures among concerned countries.”

In a written interview published on Sept. 7 in the Indonesian daily Kompas, President Moon Jae-in said that he will exert all necessary effort to accelerate denuclearization, develop inter-Korean ties and improve the U.S.-North Korean relationship. The interview came ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's state visit to Seoul from Sept. 9 to 11.

"The most basic goal of our policy is that there must never be another war on the Korean Peninsula," the president said. He stressed that through the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration and June 12 U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, the leaders of North Korea, South Korea and the U.S. have confirmed their common goal of denuclearization and a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The president also expressed his gratitude to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for sending a special envoy to invite the leaders of the two Koreas to the Asian Games, and asked for Indonesia’s constructive help in moving toward denuclearization and toward the stabilization of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The president also stressed that, “Indonesia has maintained a good relationship with North Korea since 1950. Therefore, if Indonesia continues to embrace North Korea, like it did at the Asian Games, working within the already set up framework of various cooperation and exchange measures, it would contribute to both peace on the Korean Peninsula and to Indonesia’s prosperity.”

Concerning his administration's New Southern policy, Moon Jae-in said that, “The main objective is to enhance ties between Korea and Southeast Asia in order to build future partnerships for 'the three Ps,' that is, ‘people, prosperity and peace.’ To elaborate, strengthening friendly cooperation through human exchanges, expanding opportunities for co-prosperity through substantial cooperation projects, and contributing to peace and prosperity of the entire world.”

ysk1111@korea.kr