Yoon Meets UN Secretary-General and Pompeo... Guterres "Full Support for CVID"

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ant?nio Guterres speaking
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] United Nations Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres, who is visiting Korea, met with President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 12th and expressed "full support for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of the Korean Peninsula, especially North Korea."

Secretary-General Guterres made this statement during a 2-hour and 20-minute luncheon with President Yoon at the Yongsan Presidential Office earlier that day, adding, "I want to emphasize that this goal is fundamentally important for achieving security, peace, and stability in the region."

This was the first time the CVID term, which had been rarely used due to North Korea's opposition, was publicly mentioned in front of President Yoon.

Guterres has recently been actively urging the international community to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime, including calls for strict adherence to the NPT.

After the summit in May, the joint statement by South Korea and the United States used the phrase "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" instead of CVID.

However, amid signs of North Korea's high-intensity provocations, the CVID term has been reemerging in recent discussions between South Korea and the U.S. authorities.

Secretary-General Guterres expressed his expectation to strengthen cooperation with Korea in international peace and security, human rights, development, and climate change, and in this context, he requested President Yoon's attendance at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York next month.

Guterres visited Korea for a one-night, two-day schedule following visits to Japan and Mongolia. This is his first visit in four years since attending the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Meanwhile, President Yoon also held a private meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is on an unofficial visit to Korea.

The Presidential Office announced to the press that President Yoon met with former Secretary Pompeo and exchanged views on the North Korean nuclear issue and security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Former Secretary Pompeo served as the last Secretary of State under the Donald Trump administration. He is currently visiting Korea to attend a conference hosted by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), an organization affiliated with the Unification Church.