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| President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defense Minister Peter Dutton during their courtesy visit to Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap |
President to visit New York for UN General Assembly
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Moon Jae-in is taking on a busy week of diplomacy, with a series of key events scheduled to test his inter-Korean peace initiative and balancing act between the U.S. and China.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, Monday, Moon will depart for a five-day trip to New York and Honolulu, Sunday, to attend the upcoming 76th United Nations General Assembly. He will deliver a keynote speech at the high-level General Debate, which will begin on Tuesday (local time).
Moon's visit to the U.N. headquarters comes on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Sept. 17 joint admission of South and North Koreas into the U.N.
Since this will be Moon's last attendance at a U.N. General Assembly as South Korean President, he is anticipated to strengthen efforts to secure international support for his inter-Korean peace initiative and set up an environment to entice the North into discussions on denuclearization.
"This year marks the 30th anniversary of the joint admission of South and North Korea into the U.N., and Moon's appearance will be a chance to reaffirm the international support for the peace initiative on the Korean Peninsula," presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. "Also, it will shed new light on South Korea's activities for global peace and prosperity, as well as showing the intention to meet the global expectations on the country's heightened status."
A Cheong Wa Dae official said the presidential office is "reviewing the possibility of holding summits with a number of countries participating in the U.N. event," but did not elaborate on which countries they would be.
For Moon, whose term will end in eight months, the U.N. outing will be one of the few remaining opportunities for Moon to directly engage in diplomatic events involving North Korea.
Initially, the presidential office sought to use next year's Beijing Winter Olympics as a chance for talks with Pyongyang, but this has been technically frustrated after the International Olympic Committee decided to ban the North's participation in the event scheduled for February.
In Honolulu, Moon will attend a ceremony of returning the remains of U.S. soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War.
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| Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh wave before their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday. AP-Yonhap |
China question
Before Moon departs for the U.N. trip, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in Korea, Tuesday, and is anticipated to pay a visit to Moon as early as Wednesday.
Wang's visit comes amid the Moon administration's balancing act between Washington and Beijing. As part of their rivalry, the two powerhouses have been reaching out to their allies and friendly nations to "join their side," and this has been a tricky test for South Korea, which has the U.S. as its closest ally and China as its top trading partner.
During his visit to Vietnam last week, Wang already dropped hints as to the purpose of his visit to Seoul. On Friday, Wang warned of interference from regional outsiders, as he urged Vietnam not to "magnify conflicts" in the disputed South China Sea, in an apparent response to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' call on Vietnam to join the U.S. in challenging China's "bullying."
While Wang is visiting Seoul, the top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will meet Tuesday, which is seen as a sign of closer trilateral relations. Against this backdrop, Wang's visit is interpreted as Beijing's increased pressure on Seoul after Washington recently expressed its wish to bring more of its allies into the U.S.-led intelligence-sharing alliance, known as "Five Eyes."
If Wang meets Moon, the North Korea issue will also be on the table.
The North's Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that the regime has test fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend.
China, along with Russia, has been raising the idea of sanctions relief for North Korea. The missile test, however, has had an adverse impact on Beijing's rationale, but experts said Wang may underscore that North Korea launched a cruise missile, not a ballistic missile. Cruise missiles are considered a "weaker provocation" compared to ballistic missiles.
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| President Moon Jae-in poses with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, left, and Defense Minister Peter Dutton during their courtesy visit to Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap |
Stronger ties with Australia
On Monday, Moon received a visit from Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defense Minister Peter Dutton.
During the meeting, Moon said the ministers' visit shows "Australia's strong commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership between South Korea and Australia," stressing the importance of bilateral cooperation in diplomacy and security.
During a summit between Moon and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in May, the two leaders agreed to upgrade two countries' relations to a strategic partnership.
