President Moon has returned home from his 9-day trip to Europe.
We look back at some of the outcomes from his tour,... which include earning the support of Pope Francis.
Shin Se-min reports.
The number one achievement from President Moon Jae-in's five-nation European tour was gaining the backing of the head of the Roman Catholic Church for the drive towards peace on the Korean Peninsula.
'Move forward without stopping. Do not be afraid,' said Pope Francis to President Moon during their meeting at the Vatican, where he said he will continue to pray for the divided peninsula.
And as for that possible visit to North Korea, Pope Francis did indicate that he will consider visiting Pyeongyang,... which would make him the first pope to visit the North.
And as the Vatican has a good record of improving relations between countries, like in the case of the U.S. and Cuba, there's hope that a papal visit could perhaps help bring North Korea closer to the rest of the world.
President Moon also brought his European counterparts up to speed on the diplomatic situation with the North, with another Pyeongyang-Washington summit now in the works.
But European powers like the U.K. and France, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, and Germany, were less keen on discussing easing international sanctions on the regime to motivate Pyeongyang to continue with the denuclearization process.
Instead,... the respective nations reaffirmed their stance that the North should continue to completely, verifiably and irreversibly denuclearize.
And that expression of CVID was included in a joint statement at the Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM,... going against President Moon's view that easing sanctions will facilitate the regime’s denuclearization.
Still the presidential office remains optimistic,... that although not everything will happen at once,... the president’s push for peace on the Korean Peninsula will eventually become a reality.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.
