President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook on the afternoon of Sept. 19 wave bye before boarding their flight from Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, to attend the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York and visit Honolulu, Hawaii. (Yonhap News)

By Xu Aiying and Yoon Hee Young

President Moon Jae-in on Sept. 19 departed for the U.S. to attend the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York and visit Honolulu, Hawaii.

He and first lady Kim Jung-sook boarded a flight from Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, for their three-night, five-day trip to the U.S.

From Sept. 19-21, the president will stay in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

This will be the fifth straight assembly he attends since taking office in 2017.

President Moon on Sept. 20 will speak on behalf of heads of state at the opening ceremony of the second meeting of the Sustainable Development Goals Moment, where K-pop sensation BTS will attend to represent youths worldwide. The next day, he will deliver a keynote speech at the U.N. General Assembly.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of both Koreas joining the world body. The president's attendance at the U.N. session is expected to serve as an opportunity to highlight his nation's efforts and contributions to global peace and prosperity.

While in New York, the chief executive will also hold bilateral summits with the leaders of Slovenia and Vietnam and a meeting with the U.N. secretary-general. Other items on the schedule include talks with the chairman of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, a signing ceremony for a vaccine partnership and an interview with ABC News of the U.S.

From Sept. 21-22 in Honolulu, the president will lay a wreath at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific aka the Punchbowl and attend a posthumous awards ceremony to honor independence fighters. He will also attend a function for the transfer of the remains of Korean and American troops killed during the Korean War.

President Moon will return home on Sept. 23 in the evening.

xuaiy@korea.kr