President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is visiting New York to attend the 78th high-level session of the U.N. General Assembly, met with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterresat the U.N.on September 19.They exchanged views on Korea-U.N. cooperation, Korean Peninsula issues and the war in Ukraine.
President Yoon emphasized the importance of global solidarity centered on the United Nations in today's era of complex crises and expressed his willingness to play a responsible role considering our international status. In particular, Korea expressed its eagerness to actively contribute to the promotion of peace in the international community as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the term 2024-25. Moreover, President Yoonrevealed our contribution to establishing peace in Ukraine, the biggest global issue.
Meanwhile, President Yoon said he expects to continue working with the United Nations to prevent North Korea's provocations and to substantially improve the human rights situation in North Korea.
Secretary-General Guterres expressed his gratitude for the Korean government's activities and contributions to the United Nations.He expects to communicate more closely to resolve major international issues during the period of Korea's non-permanentmember for the Security Council. In addition, Secretary-Generalreaffirmed his commitment to cooperation in denuclearizingand improving human rights in North Korea.
This was the third meeting between President Yoon and the Secretary-General.The meeting is believed to have served as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the two sides on North Korea and global issues as well as the cooperative relationship between South Korea and the United Nations.