President Moon: "True Liberation is a 'Unified Korean Peninsula'... North and South are a Community of Life" (Update)

President Moon Jae-in delivers a congratulatory speech at the 75th Liberation Day celebration held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on the morning of the 15th. August 15, 2020. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in said on the 15th, "True liberation is ensuring the dreams and lives of each individual in a peaceful and safe 'unified Korean Peninsula,'" adding, "Our pursuit of peace and promotion of cooperation between the South and the North are for the safety and well-being of the people of both sides."

President Moon attended the '75th Liberation Day Celebration' held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul on the morning of the same day and stated in his congratulatory speech, "In the new security situation of the COVID-19 era, I hope the path of coexistence and peace will open to form a community of life along with a peace community and an economic community through closer cooperation."

He continued, "We have realized that individual health and safety are closely connected to each other as we respond to livestock epidemics and COVID-19 and experience unprecedented heavy rains caused by abnormal weather," adding, "We are repeatedly confirming that the South and the North are a community of life and safety."

President Moon said, "Ensuring the life and safety of all people living on the Korean Peninsula is the security and peace of our time," and added, "I hope that through quarantine cooperation and joint management of shared rivers, the people of the South and the North will tangibly feel the benefits of peace."

He also emphasized, "Practical inter-Korean cooperation includes humanitarian cooperation for the life and safety of the people, as well as enabling people to meet those they want to see before they die and visit places they want to go," and stated, "Inter-Korean cooperation is the best security policy for both the South and the North to break free from reliance on nuclear weapons or military power."

President Moon said, "The stronger the cooperation between the South and the North becomes, the stronger the security of each side will be, and this will become a power that can lead to prosperity through cooperation with the international community." He added, "As agreed in the Panmunjom Declaration, we will permanently eliminate the threat of war and establish the foundation for true liberation dreamed of by our ancestors," and said, "The railway connection, for which the South and the North have already conducted joint surveys and held groundbreaking ceremonies, is a key driving force to expand future inter-Korean cooperation to the continent." Furthermore, he expressed his determination, saying, "We will review and implement each of the already agreed matters between the South and the North and move toward a 'peaceful and jointly prosperous Korean Peninsula.'"