[ti:South Korean President Says No to Nuclear Weapons]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.00]South Korean President Moon Jae-in says his country
[00:05.40]will not develop nuclear arms or own nuclear weapons.
[00:10.73]The president made the statement in a speech Wednesday
[00:15.09]to South Korea's National Assembly.
[00:19.30]Moon added that both South Korea and North Korea
[00:23.95]should observe a joint declaration from 1992.
[00:29.54]In that statement, both countries said
[00:33.95]the Korean Peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons.
[00:39.31]Observers noted that Moon's position on such weapons remains unchanged.
[00:47.64]The president's statement comes as opposition lawmakers have called
[00:54.67]for a redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons in the South.
[01:01.15]They want to defend against the threat of North Korean efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
[01:10.73]Some South Korean lawmakers say their country should have its own nuclear weapons.
[01:19.83]On September 3, North Korea tested its sixth and most powerful nuclear device yet.
[01:30.25]North Korea's nuclear and long-distance missile tests
[01:36.65]have led to strong language from United States President Donald Trump.
[01:42.92]He has threatened to launch military action against the North
[01:49.32]if it continues testing barred by the United Nations Security Council.
[01:56.06]However, in his speech on Wednesday,
[01:59.84]Moon stated that no military action will be taken
[02:04.26]on the Korean Peninsula without the permission of South Korea.
[02:09.54]He also said that his country would control its own future.
[02:15.86]South Korea will be the second country
[02:20.72]that Trump visits on his trip to Asia later this month.
[02:25.89]North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile development
[02:31.56]is expected to be one of many issues to be discussed.
[02:36.78]After his visit to South Korea,
[02:40.33]Trump will then travel to Beijing for talks with Chinese officials.
[02:46.50]As preparations for the visit continue, members of his cabinet
[02:53.32]have visited Asia and discussed the situation in Korea.
[02:58.93]Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said,
[03:05.39]"Our goal is not war, but rather the complete,
[03:10.43]verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
[03:17.53]The Reuters news agency reports that the United States
[03:24.01]is carrying out direct, secret negotiations with North Korea.
[03:29.73]The report was published on Wednesday.
[03:33.62]The story said that an unidentified State Department official told Reuters
[03:41.80]that the U.S. special diplomat for North Korea
[03:45.88]has been speaking with North Korea's U.N. mission.
[03:51.73]The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea.
[03:57.89]But, special diplomat Joseph Yun, the report says, has been in contact
[04:05.75]with the North through what is known as the "New York channel."
[04:10.95]That term suggests North Korea's diplomatic contacts with the U.N.
[04:18.03]The unidentified official said the discussion
[04:24.33]"has not been limited at all, both (in) frequency and substance."
[04:31.20]Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last month that the United States
[04:39.04]is extending diplomatic efforts toward North Korea.
[04:43.79]President Trump, however, has voiced anger over nuclear
[04:50.03]and long-range missile tests carried out by the North.
[04:54.84]I'm Mario Ritter.
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