President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony for people whose hometowns are in North Korea and for North Korean defectors, at Hyochang Park in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 22.

By Sohn JiAe

Photos = Hyoja-dong Studio

President Moon Jae-in was speaking to people whose hometowns are in North Korea and to North Korean defectors on Oct. 22 when he said, “I hope that the day will come when people can freely travel to and from the two Koreas and when I`ll be able to find my own roots in the hometowns of my mother and father in Pyongyang.”

The president was speaking about his own parents who evacuated to the South in 1950 during the Korean War from their hometown of Hungnam in Hamgyongnam-do Province. 

With more than 15,000 people who were born in North Korea or to North Korean refugees, as well as around 1,000 North Korean defectors, in attendance, President Moon said, “For all of you here today, and for my parents, too, what made you come and settle here was democracy. Democracy that doesn’t’ exist in Pyongyang has been our nutrients, our lives and our peace.” 

Attending a ceremony for people whose hometowns are in North Korea and North Korean defectors, in Seoul on Oct. 22, Vice President Chung Sook-ja (right) of the Association for Hwanghae-do Province Residents wipes away her tears after being greeted by President Moon Jae-in.

President Moon said, “Besides intensive sanctions against the North, our government will open a new path for peace and coexistence between the two Koreas, promising to deal with issues involving family members separated during the war -- verifying whether their lost family members are alive or dead, allowing families from both sides to exchange letters and to come visit their homelands -- apart from the political and military situation. 

“Not to mention the U.S., China, Japan and Russia, European and Northeast Asian countries are joining in on our efforts to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. The international community, including the U.N., also aggressively supports our efforts to achieve denuclearization in Pyongyang and an inter-Korean peaceful coexistence,” the president stressed.

He outlined his government’s policies to help refugees and defectors from the North, like conserving and helping to develop local traditions from regions in the North, projects to invite North Korean residents outside Korea to their hometowns, and the expansion of support for North Korean defectors. President Moon emphasized that, “I believe these policies will pave the way to bringing about peaceful unification to the peninsula.” 

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