(Unofficial translation)

Members of the 19th National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC) and distinguished guests, I am pleased to meet you all.

I am truly reassured and relieved to see such Council members at the forefront of opening a path toward peace and unification. 

Also joining us today are Council members from 41 other countries who carry the aspiration for peaceful unification shared by the 7.4 million Koreans overseas. Please welcome them wholeheartedly with applause.

It is regrettable that, amid the all-out efforts to prevent an epidemic of African swine fever, we could not have more Council members here. However, the NUAC, which has drawn upon the will for peaceful unification from all corners of the country and from across the globe, still demonstrates as much enthusiasm as before. 

I’d like to ask everyone here to cheer on each other with a big round of applause for the unity of the 19th NUAC, including the share of those Council members unable to attend. 

Distinguished Council members,

Every single step that the NUAC has taken along with the people has become a chapter in the history towards the realization of peace and unification.

Two years ago, the plenary meeting of the 18th NUAC was held in Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province. It became the first in history to be held outside of Seoul. At the time when people talked about military tension of the Korean Peninsula is higher than ever seen in recent years and the Peninsula was facing the greatest risk of war on earth, the Council members renewed their determination to make the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games a success as an Olympics of peace by every means possible.

The suspension of ROK-U.S. joint military exercises, the participation of North Korean athletes in the PyeongChang Games and the attendance at the opening and closing ceremonies by high-level North Korean officials, which had been proposed by the 18th NUAC’s special committee, all came to be as intended. They helped to create the most successful “peace Olympics” as it led to inter-Korean talks and North Korea-U.S. dialogue.

The strength of the NUAC lies in the fact that it brings together people of different ideologies, regions, generations and social backgrounds. By convening roundtable discussions for peaceful unification with 613 regional and civic groups and 19 universities from home and abroad, the Council has made it possible to form a public consensus and social agreement regarding peaceful unification. 

That strength empowered the South and North to reach a bold agreement and put it into practice. Panmunjeom has become a venue for dialogue and meetings in which not even a single pistol exists. In the Demilitarized Zone, peace trails have been built together with the removal of guard posts.      

The NUAC overcame a difficult situation that was engulfed by the dark clouds of war and opened up a path toward peace together with the people. I’d like to express my sincere gratitude. 

Distinguished members of the Council, 

Today, we will take yet another bold step toward lasting peace and common prosperity on the Korean Peninsula by building upon the achievements that the NUAC has made to date. 

The 19th NUAC has attempted drastic changes for greater participation from an increasing number of the people.

Through a novel public contest system, the NUAC appointed as its advisors people who have engaged in various activities for peace and unification. The number of female and young participants has increased by a large margin, and the number of countries with advisory council members who will be conducting unification-related public diplomacy has reached a record high of 124. Now, it has become possible for the people to further nurture their hopes for peaceful reunification through a NUAC which wholly embraces those from different regions, genders and generations as well as from all walks of life.
 
I’d like to extend my appreciation to Executive Vice-chairperson Jeong Se-hyun, Secretary General Lee Seung-hwan and members of the Executive and Central committees for your efforts to firmly establish a foundation for the 19th NUAC in just a short one-month period since its inception. 

Last week, I attended the U.N. General Assembly. I sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump and had in-depth discussions on substantive measures about how to advance denuclearization and establish permanent peace, which led to matters concerning working-level talks between North Korea and the United States and a possible third North Korea-U.S. summit. While addressing the U.N. General Assembly, I proposed transforming the Demilitarized Zone into an "international peace zone."

If North Korea sincerely implements denuclearization, the international community, and South Korea as well, should reciprocate. Making the DMZ an international peace zone constitutes a reciprocal measure for the North’s move, which is also a way to build trust. It will help guarantee the security of both Koreas as well by allowing the international community to participate in activities within the DMZ.

The areas bordering the DMZ, which will be turned into an international peace zone, can be developed into a global special economic zone, thereby ushering in the era of a full-fledged “peace economy.”

The peace economy is something that will end the over-70-year long era of confrontation and usher in an era of mutual growth that benefits both Koreas. This aims to create a virtuous cycle where peace leads to economic cooperation, which in turn further solidifies peace. This is also a way for the Korean Peninsula to develop into a genuine bridging nation that connects the continent and ocean. 

I hope that we, along with the NUAC, will be able to turn the DMZ, a land of tragedy, into a land of blessing.    

A proposed joint Olympics in Seoul and Pyeongyang in 2032 is another dream involving the Korean Peninsula moving beyond peace and being united as one. IOC President Thomas Bach promised his cooperation, saying that one of the IOC’s missions is to contribute to peace on the Peninsula. 

The joint Seoul-Pyeongyang 2032 Olympic Games will be an event that proclaims to the world cooperation and unity between the two Koreas that is based upon peace on the Peninsula. 

I call on the 19th NUAC to pull together in a bid to realize the joint Olympic Games. 

Distinguished members of the Council and guests, 

The clock that points to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and an era of permanent peace is ticking again. Steps are being hastened for working-level negotiations between North Korea and the United States to prepare for their third summit.  

It is important to have bold ability to act as well as the wisdom and decisiveness needed to not miss the optimum moment. I hope that the 19th NUAC will accommodate the voices of a wide range of people and propose essential policy options that are necessary in these times. The Government, for its part, will provide unsparing support to the peace and unification projects that the Council is pursuing. 

The path to peace and prosperity can be reached only when the wisdom and capacity of all the people are pooled together. The path will go beyond the Korean Peninsula and lead to shared prosperity in Asia and the world. 

I believe in the NUAC and the people’s potential. Let us never tire as we move toward peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

Thank you.