South Korean President Moon Jae-in has requested the assistance of the United Nations in verifying North Korea’s planned shutdown of its nuclear test site and efforts for peace on the peninsula, his office announced Tuesday.
As reported by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, Moon delivered his message to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a 30-minute phone conversation, during which he asked the UN to monitor the implementation of the summit deal reached on Friday.
Moon met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Nam at the truce village on the border between these two long battling nations. It was the first time a North Korean leader had set foot in the South since the outbreak of the War in 1950.
The result of the historic summit was the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, in which both sides agreed to a “nuclear-free Korean Peninsula” and “solid peace regime” with the aim to officially end the Korean War by the end of this year.
Kim also agreed to close down its infamous Punggye-ri nuclear weapons testing site in Kilju County where the regime has conducted six nuclear tests. Kim invited South Korean and US journalists and experts to come along and make sure the closure goes ahead as planned.
Plans to turn the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into a peace belt were also discussed.
Moon asked the UN to monitor the implementation of the summit deal.
“I would like the UN to issue a declaration to support the Panmunjom Declaration via the General Assembly or the Security Council,” Moon was quoted as telling the UN chief.
Guterres reportedly agreed to the proposal, saying he hopes to help efforts to make peace take root in Korea.
He added he would assign a UN disarmament official to work with Seoul on the matter.