President Moon Jae-in presents U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres with plush toys of Soohorang and Bandabi, the official mascots for next year’s PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, at the U.N. Secretariat in New York on Sept. 18. (Cheong Wa Dae)

By Sohn JiAe

President Moon Jae-in, on a visit to New York to attend the 72nd session of the U.N. General Assembly, met with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sept. 18 to discuss ways to jointly deal with both regional and global issues. 

President Moon greatly appreciated the fact that the U.N. Security Council members had unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2375 against North Korea, noting how the international community had come together effectively to implement the resolution. He urged the U.N. secretary general to engage more actively in helping to address North Korean issues in a peaceful manner. 

The U.N. leader expressed his determination to fully implement the resolutions and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. He also stressed that, “To this end, members of the international community should be united even more to resolve North Korean issues through diplomatic solutions, not military ones.” 

The two leaders shared their thoughts on global issues, as well, like regional conflicts, terror and poverty. 

“Korea will continue to work closely with the U.N. and the world to jointly address a range of global issues, including sustainable development, climate change and refugees,” President Moon said. 

Secretary General Guterres said, “As Korea’s contributions and leadership has expanded to cover many global issues, befitting its rising global status and national power, the U.N. will expand its cooperation with Korea in all areas, such as peace, development and human rights.” 

***