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| South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during the first P4G Summit at Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Oct. 20. Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
COPENHAGEN, Denmark ― The South Korean government is prepared to help North Korea pursue new business models that could be sustained and applicable for economic growth of the world's poorest nation with their citizens suffering food shortages.
"True humanity comes after embracing differences without prejudice. I want all the participants to think about this idea because I think this mindset should be placed as a central point between countries. Within this context, South Korea will help North Korea pursue new growth models that will be both sustained and developed," President Moon Jae-in said in his keynote speech at the P4G Summit, here, late Saturday (KST).
The South Korean leader said the country, Asia's fourth-largest economy, is pursuing its openness and liberal approach to trade, while President Moon stressed that the country is putting more emphasis on wealth distribution between haves and have-nots and domestic regions.
"South Korea's core values are to distribute economic benefits across regions and between haves and have-nots and to remain a 'responsible helper' to help citizens receive buffers over the course of their entire life journeys," President Moon said.
Given the weak infrastructure on all fronts in North Korea, President Moon said applying a manufacturing-focused growth model, which significantly helped South Korea see significant economic prosperity over several decades since the armistice of the 1950-1953 Korean War, wouldn't be the best fit for North Korea.
Moon didn't specify what business growth models could be applicable to North Korea or sought by South Korea as tools to encourage its neighbor have an increased international appearance.
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| Denmark's Queen Margrethe gives a speech during a dinner on occasion of the P4G Summit, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, late Saturday (KST). AP-Yonhap |
The P4G Summit is the last event scheduled on Moon's nine-day trip to European capitals. He attempted to receive support from two permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members in Europe ― France and the United Kingdom ― for which they weren't clear to support Moon's drive for loosening sanctions on North Korea.
British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron insisted the sanctions must be maintained until the North takes more detailed steps to scrap its nuclear and missile program.
At the P4G summit, Moon urged that the international community should come along to tackle looming global issues such as those in agriculture, climate, water and energy.
P4G a short of Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030 and is a global network of government, business and civil organizations to explore applicable answers to deliver on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.
The meeting ended with this statement:
"We consider P4G to be an incubator and accelerator of public-private partnerships that bring together mutually reinforcing agendas on sustainable development and climate change action to address the world's most urgent challenges."
