[Full Text] President Moon's Keynote Speech at the 76th UN General Assembly

Chairman Abdulla Shahid,

Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres and representatives of all countries,

Standing again at the United Nations General Assembly after two years,

I feel the preciousness of the lost daily life.

With Chairman Shahid’s leadership as the President of the 76th UN General Assembly,

I look forward to the gathering of international wisdom and cooperation to overcome global crises.

I also congratulate and pay tribute to Secretary-General Guterres,

who has devoted himself to the development and reform of the UN over the past five years.

I pray that great progress will be made in peacekeeping activities, climate change response, and the Sustainable Development Goals, which the Secretary-General has emphasized.

I hope this UN General Assembly

can deliver a message of hope for recovery from COVID-19 and the climate crisis

and sustainable development to people around the world.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman, Secretary-General, representatives of all countries,

Humans are beings who live in communities.

Humanity has coexisted by relying on collective intelligence and mutual aid through communities, overcoming numerous infectious diseases.

The COVID-19 pandemic will also be overcome through humanity and solidarity,

and the UN will be at the center of this.

To respond to COVID-19,

we have shared genomic information across borders,

succeeded in vaccine development through close collaboration,

and are making rapid progress in developing treatments.

Overcoming COVID-19 means breaking down boundaries.

The scope of our lives and thoughts

has expanded from villages to countries, and from countries to the entire Earth.

I consider this the birth of the “Era of the Global Community.”

The “Era of the Global Community” is an era of embracing and cooperating with each other.

It is an era of gathering wisdom and taking action together.

Until now,

countries that led in economic development,

and countries with superior power have led the world,

but now all countries must align with the best goals and methods

to pursue sustainable development.

The role of the UN as the center of cooperation and action will grow even larger.

The founders of the UN,

having experienced the devastation of two world wars,

sought an international order of peace.

Now, with the advent of the “Era of the Global Community,”

the UN must present new norms and goals.

The UN must build trust among nations

to enable reciprocal cooperation within a multilateral order.

The UN must unite the will and capabilities of the international community

and lead through action.

Korea will actively participate in the international order of “solidarity and cooperation” led by the UN.

After World War II, Korea, a newly independent country,

was able to achieve both democratic development and economic growth

thanks to the support of the UN and the international community.

Now, as a responsible member of the international community,

we will make greater efforts for mutual prosperity and inclusion among nations.

We will take a leading role in presenting and practicing

a vision of cooperation and coexistence that advanced and developing countries can share.

The immediate task for the “Global Community”

is to achieve inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

Vulnerable groups such as low-income and elderly people

have been most exposed to the threat of COVID-19.

Long-accumulated economic and social problems

have also surfaced due to COVID-19.

Poverty and hunger have deepened,

and disparities by gender, class, and country have widened across income, jobs, and education.

The UN has already presented the “2030 Sustainable Development Goals” years ago,

urging the resolution of such imbalances.

Now, all members of the UN

must make more serious efforts to achieve the “2030 Sustainable Development Goals.”

Korea will work together so that all people and countries

can be free from the threat of COVID-19.

We will fulfill our promise to contribute 200 million USD to COVAX,

and serve as a hub for global vaccine production,

striving for equitable and rapid distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

We will also take the lead in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Korea is promoting the “Korean New Deal” policy for overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and making a new leap forward.

In particular, through the “Human New Deal,” which expands employment and social safety nets and invests in people,

we are striving for a people-centered inclusive recovery.

We will share the experience of the Korean New Deal policy with the international community.

We will also expand ODA focused on green, digital, and health sectors,

where demand has increased after COVID-19, so that developing countries can advance toward the Sustainable Development Goals together.

Another urgent task the “Global Community” must address is

responding to the climate crisis.

The Earth is warming faster than expected at this very moment.

The international community must work more closely together

to advance toward “carbon neutrality.”

Korea declared “2050 Carbon Neutrality” last year,

and enacted the “Carbon Neutrality Basic Act”

to legally define the vision and implementation system.

Next month, we will finalize the “2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenario,”

and at COP26 in November,

we will announce an enhanced “2030 NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution).”

We have closed coal power plants early,

stopped public financial support for new overseas coal power plants,

and are working to increase the share of renewable energy.

“Carbon neutrality” is a goal that can only be achieved through steady cooperation among all countries, not just individual ones.

Its implementation must also be sustainable.

Through the “Green New Deal,” Korea is turning “carbon neutrality”

into an opportunity for fostering new industries and creating jobs.

Many Korean companies voluntarily participate in the “RE100 campaign,”

expand investments in renewable energy including hydrogen,

and accelerate ESG management and “carbon neutrality.”

The government will strongly support private sector technology development and investment.

Korea will expand climate-related ODA and establish a Green New Deal Fund trust,

support the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI),

and share technologies and capabilities for “carbon neutrality.”

We will help developing countries build their capacity to respond to the climate crisis.

Furthermore, based on the experience of hosting the P4G Seoul Summit,

which gathered international will for climate action,

we aim to host COP28 in 2023.

We hope to play a more active role in faithfully implementing the Paris Agreement.

Chairman, Secretary-General, representatives of all countries,

The most urgent dream of the “Global Community” is a peaceful and safe life.

The founding of the UN shifted the paradigm of international relations

from “competition and conflict” to “coexistence and mutual prosperity.”

The UN has worked to transform the incomplete peace maintained by “balance of power”

into sustainable peace through “cooperation,”

and to promote the freedom of all humanity.

Korea will do its utmost to firmly root permanent and complete peace on the Korean Peninsula.

To build a denuclearized and jointly prosperous Korean Peninsula,

our government has steadily pursued the “Korean Peninsula Peace Process,”

and with the support of the international community,

historic achievements such as the Panmunjom Declaration, the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration and military agreements through inter-Korean summits, and the Singapore Declaration through North Korea-US summits have been made.

The beginning of peace on the Korean Peninsula is always dialogue and cooperation.

I urge the prompt resumption of dialogue between North and South Korea and between North Korea and the United States.

I hope it will be proven on the Korean Peninsula that dialogue and cooperation can create peace.

Two years ago, at this very place,

I declared three principles for resolving the Korean Peninsula issue: no war, mutual security guarantees, and joint prosperity.

Last year, I proposed a “Declaration to End the Korean War.”

The “Declaration to End the Korean War” will be

an important starting point for creating a new order of “reconciliation and cooperation” on the Korean Peninsula.

Today, I once again urge the international community to unite efforts for the Korean Peninsula “Declaration to End the Korean War,”

and propose that the three parties of South Korea, North Korea, and the United States, or the four parties including China,

gather to jointly declare the end of the war on the Korean Peninsula.

When the parties to the Korean War come together to achieve the “Declaration to End the Korean War,”

I believe irreversible progress in denuclearization and complete peace can begin.

This year marks the meaningful 30th anniversary of the simultaneous admission of South and North Korea to the UN.

Through simultaneous UN membership, South and North Korea recognized

that they are two countries with different systems and ideologies.

However, this was never to perpetuate division.

Because when they recognize and respect each other,

exchange, reconciliation, and the path toward unification can begin.

When South and North Korea and neighboring countries cooperate together,

peace will be firmly established on the Korean Peninsula,

contributing to the prosperity of the entire Northeast Asia.

This will later be called the “Korean Peninsula Model,”

which achieved peace through cooperation.

North Korea must also prepare for changes suitable for the “Era of the Global Community.”

I hope the international community will continuously extend a hand of cooperation to North Korea together with Korea.

Considering the wishes of the already elderly separated families,

inter-Korean family reunions must be promoted as soon as possible.

When South and North Korea participate together in regional platforms such as the “Northeast Asia Disease Control and Health Cooperation,”

they will be able to respond more effectively to infectious diseases and natural disasters.

As a community sharing the fate of the Korean Peninsula and as a member of the “Global Community,”

I hope South and North Korea will join forces.

I will do my best until the end of my term for a “Korean Peninsula of coexistence and cooperation.”

Recent situations in Afghanistan

prove how important the UN’s role is for peace and human rights.

In December, Korea will host the “UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting.”

We will make it an opportunity for the international community to cooperate closely

so that UN peacekeeping operations can be conducted more safely and effectively.

Korea will also expand its contributions to the UN’s conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities.

Korea will serve as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2024?2025,

and actively play a role for sustainable peace and prosperity for future generations.

We look forward to the cooperation and support of all countries.

Chairman, Secretary-General, and representatives of all countries,

Despite numerous hardships, humanity has never lost hope for the future.

We have trusted and cooperated with each other to turn that hope into reality.

Even amid the COVID-19 crisis,

we are nurturing hope again.

We are joining forces for a better recovery.

If humanity unites and does not forget today,

we will surely create a better tomorrow.

I hope the UN will take the lead in solidarity and cooperation

in humanity’s new journey to open the era of the “Global Community.”

Thank you.