PRES. MOON ON N. KOREA ISSUES

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in says North Korea is keeping its provocations at a level that does not push Washington to forgo its diplomatic approach. As for his proposition at the U.N. General Assembly to put an official end to the Korean War, the president says China and the U.S. have agreed on the issue for a long time.

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President Moon Jae-in spoke to reporters on his flight back home. He said North Korea is not responding to Seoul and Washington's offer for dialogue. Moon added, even the 30th anniversary of the two Koreas simultaneously obtaining U.N. membership has done little to encourage Pyongyang to sit down at the negotiating table.

[Soundbite] Moon Jae-in(President) : "I hoped North Korea would use the U.N. General Assembly as an opportunity to improve cross-border relations, but it didn't happen."

However, he believes the regime is keeping the door for dialogue open. The President supported his claim by pointing out the North did not conduct any nuclear tests or fire ICBMs recently.

[Soundbite] Moon Jae-in(President) : "Although they did fire missiles lately, they are not provoking Washington hard enough to make it forgo dialogue."

Regarding the feasibility of the proposal made at the U.N. General Assembly to officially end the Korean War through joint efforts of Seoul, Pyongyang and the U.S. or the two Koreas, Washington and Beijing, Moon said the issue had been negotiated in the 2007 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration.

[Soundbite] Moon Jae-in(President) : "The three parties mentioned back then were also South and North Korea and the United States. The four parties were South and North Korea, the U.S. and China. Both the U.S. and China had already agreed on the matter."

After the declaration was signed, North Korea's denuclearization hit snags, prompting Seoul and Washington to discuss how and when to link it to putting an official end to the Korean War. On the domestic front, the South Korean leader highlighed the need to ponder various issues when it comes to the Press Arbitration Act. He also explained that the government could announce eased COVID-19 restrictions next month as the nation's vaccination rates go up.