Yoon Emphasizes 'Freedom and Solidarity' Without Mentioning 'Korean Peninsula or North Korea Nuclear Issue,' Differentiating from Previous Presidents

UN General Assembly Keynote Speech
Talks on 'Buk' During Meeting with Secretary-General

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The "North Korea issue," which had been consistently emphasized in President Yoon Suk-yeol's May inauguration speech and Liberation Day address, did not appear in his United Nations debut. In his UN General Assembly speech, President Yoon mentioned "freedom" more than 20 times, repeatedly emphasizing solidarity with the world. This marks a clear departure from previous presidents who directly appealed for "North Korea's nuclear issue" and "peace on the Korean Peninsula." However, he did raise the North Korea issue during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres immediately after the speech.

On the 20th (local time), President Yoon met with UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres for 25 minutes at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA, stating, "If North Korea chooses openness, we will not hesitate to provide large-scale investment and financial support through international financial institutions and Northeast Asia." He also requested, "Nevertheless, if North Korea conducts additional provocations, we ask the international community to respond firmly with one voice." Secretary-General Guterres replied, "You can trust the UN and the Republic of Korea. Provocations that threaten freedom and peace will be clearly addressed at the Security Council level."

In his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly held earlier, President Yoon did not mention North Korea but said, "The world's freedom and peace are threatened by complex economic and security crises," and emphasized, "The international community must unite to protect the value of freedom." This reflects his judgment that expanding consensus in the international community with the goal of peace is a priority. On that day, President Yoon mentioned "freedom" 21 times, declaring the importance of "freedom solidarity."

This speech was significantly different even when compared to the UN General Assembly remarks of previous South Korean presidents. Former Presidents Roh Tae-woo, Kim Dae-jung, Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye, and Moon Jae-in directly mentioned North Korea's nuclear issue, peace on the Korean Peninsula, and North Korean human rights. President Roh, the first South Korean president to deliver a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly, proposed replacing the armistice agreement with a peace agreement, as well as disarmament between South and North Korea and free exchange of goods, information, and people at the UN General Assembly in 1988 (before UN membership), 1991 (when both Koreas joined the UN simultaneously), and 1992.

Former President Kim also stood at the podium of the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, explaining the outcomes of the inter-Korean summit held in June of the same year and appealing for the UN and international community's support for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Former President Lee attended the UN General Assembly in 2009 and 2011, emphasizing North Korea's security, economic support, the grand bargain for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, and South Korea's contributions to the world.

Former President Park Geun-hye attended in 2014 and 2015, presenting a vision for unification as a prosperous democratic nation and mentioning North Korean human rights, urging North Korea to focus on reform and opening rather than additional provocations to help its people overcome hardships. Former President Moon repeatedly called for international community's compensation measures following North Korea's denuclearization steps, the internationalization of the Korean Peninsula Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a peace zone, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Roh Moo-hyun emphasized South Korea's role globally and urged responsible attitudes from the UN and major powers, somewhat resembling President Yoon's speech.

The Blue House explained regarding the absence of a direct message to North Korea in this speech, "There is nothing more to add or subtract from the already announced ‘Bold Initiative,’" adding, "The macro message of international solidarity based on freedom could also be interpreted as a message to North Korea."

Meanwhile, President Yoon's speech lasted 11 minutes, 4 minutes shorter than the usual 15 minutes allotted to heads of state. First Lady Kim Keon-hee watched President Yoon's speech from a special seat at the UN General Assembly hall, and the North Korean delegation's seat was empty during the speech.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.