SEOUL, May 1 (UPI) — United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has accepted South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s request to participate in verifying the closure of North Korea’s main nuclear test site, and turning the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into a peace zone.
Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters Tuesday that the South Korean president held a 30 minute phone call with the U.N. Secretary General that day, during which the two officials agreed to work together in fulfilling the two Koreas’ Panmunjom Declaration.
Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed last Friday to pursue a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, formally end war and seek a peace treaty.
The inter-Korean summit was the first to take place in eleven years.
During his conversation with Guterres, Moon explained the vision of turning the tension-filled border into a genuine peace zone and asked for the U.N.’s participation in the process, JoongAng Ilbo reported.
He also asked the Secretary General to push for the General Assembly or the Security Council to produce a declaration that supports or upholds the Panmunjom Agreement.
Guterres said he had the will to cooperate and said such efforts would require the approval of the Security Council but he would make efforts to support the peace settlement of the Korean Peninsula.
He also promised to designate a U.N. disarmament official to work with the South Korean government, SBS reported.
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