청 "Declaration of the End of the War, North Korea Also Past Agreements... US Will Approach Topic with Open Attitude"

Park Su-hyun, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunbyeol] The Blue House has expressed optimism that it can elicit a positive response from North Korea regarding President Moon Jae-in's proposal for a 'South-North-US-China End-of-War Declaration.'

Park Suhyun, the Blue House Senior Secretary for Public Communication, stated in an interview with Yonhap News TV on the afternoon of the 22nd, "The end-of-war declaration is the first step in building trust in North Korea-US talks aimed at denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," and "The declaration is important in that it can ultimately create a momentum of trust leading to denuclearization."

Regarding this proposal, he explained, "This is not the first time; it has also been proposed at the United Nations (UN) and mentioned several times in previous declarations such as the October 4th Declaration, the Panmunjom Declaration, and the Singapore Declaration, including the relevant parties of South-North-US and South-North-US-China," adding, "This year marks the 30th anniversary of South and North Korea's simultaneous admission to the UN, which makes it even more meaningful."

When asked if North Korea is expected to respond positively, he replied, "Since this is an issue that North Korea agreed to on several occasions of declarations, if a good momentum is created and North Korea comes back to dialogue, it will be a topic that can be fully pursued together as promised."

Regarding whether there was prior consultation with the US or China, he said, "The US has discussed and proposed the end-of-war declaration together under the framework of the South Korea-US alliance, so there was no need for special discussions this time," and added, "I believe the US will also approach this topic with an open attitude." He further explained, "China, ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, considering the essence of the Olympics as world peace, I personally expect that contributing to peace on the Korean Peninsula and peace in the Northeast Asian region will serve as a momentum contributing to the success of the Olympics as the host country."

Regarding the background of President Moon's attendance at this UN General Assembly, Park said, "As our country transitions from a developing country to an advanced country, the role of a bridge has become important," and added, "In the past, South Korea requested bilateral talks, but now it is no exaggeration to say that countries are lining up to request bilateral talks with us." He also mentioned, "More than 20 countries requested bilateral talks at this UN General Assembly."

Regarding BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) attending the UN General Assembly SDG Moment (Sustainable Development Goals High-Level Meeting) with President Moon, Park said, "President Moon was invited by the UN as the representative of all member states, and BTS was invited as the representative of the future generation," emphasizing, "Some say that BTS is being used for political purposes, but that is a completely different issue."