President Moon For Inter-Korean Efforts To End 70-year Hostility

President Moon for inter-Korean efforts to end 70-year hostility

President Moon Jae-in called for inter-Korean efforts to end 70 years of hostility and chart a new path for peace late Wednesday, as he delivered the first address to North Korean citizens by Seoul's head of state at the close of an iconic mass games in Pyongyang.

SEOUL/PYONGYANG, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2018 ) :President Moon Jae-in called for inter-Korean efforts to end 70 years of hostility and chart a new path for peace late Wednesday, as he delivered the first address to North Korean citizens by Seoul's head of state at the close of an iconic mass games in Pyongyang.

Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, along with their wives, watched the large-scale gymnastic and artistic performance at the May Day Stadium on the second day of Moon's three-day trip for their third summit.

As they entered the venue together at about 9 p.m, some 150,000 Pyongyang citizens cheered and gave them an emotional standing ovation. The cheers became louder when Moon waved his hands toward the crowd.

After the one-hour performance, Moon delivered a speech to the North Koreans following a surprise introductory speech by Kim.

"I propose that we should completely end the past 70 years of hostility and take a big stride of peace to become one again," Moon said in his speech broadcast live in South Korea.

"Chairman Kim Jong-un and I will make a new fatherland, firmly holding the hands of 80 million Koreans in the South and the North. Let's move toward the new future all together.

" This made him the first South Korean leader ever to speak before the North Korean public. The speech was initially supposed to be made for only one to two minutes before the show but was delivered for 7 minutes after the show.

North Korea unveiled the propaganda performance titled the "Glorious Country" on Sept. 9 to commemorate its 70th founding anniversary.

Known as an upgraded version of the Arirang mass games, last held in 2013, the show involves tens of thousands of performers staging a spectacular display of acrobatics, gymnastics, dances and flip-card mosaic animations.

"There could be content that welcomes our president (in the performance) and the title could be changed," said Yoon Young-chan, the senior secretary to President Moon for public relations during a press briefing in Seoul.

Before attending the show, Moon planted a memorial tree at the Paekhwawon State Guest House where he is staying in Pyongyang and visited the Mansudae Art Studio, the North's largest producer of art and propaganda.

Moon and his entourage then dined at Pyongyang's Taedonggang Seafood Restaurant known tobe popular with both locals and foreign tourists. Kim and his wife joined the dinner.