South Korean President Moon Jae-in, on a three-day state visit to Vietnam, vowed to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and called for increased economic cooperation between Seoul and Hanoi.
Our chief Blue House correspondent Moon Connyoung files this report from Hanoi. Standing before nearly 400 South Korean nationals living in Vietnam as well as Vietnamese with links to South and North Korea, President Moon Jae-in declared his determination to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and carry out his proposed constitutional amendment.

"We will very well achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, bring permanent peace and carry out a constitutional amendment that will lay new groundwork for the nation."

Speaking on the first evening of his three-day state visit to the Southeast Asian country, the South Korean leader said his country stands before a critical transition which will forever change history.

"Soon, the leaders of South and North Korea, and the U.S. and North Korea will hold back to back meetings. It is a precious opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.
We are very cautious about the process and cannot be too optimistic about the outcome, but I do believe in the strength of the Republic of Korea."

President Moon also called for a boost in cooperation and exchange between South Korea and Vietnam... calling the Southeast Asian nation a core partner country for his "New Southern Policy."
It's an initiative aimed at better connecting South Korea to Southeast Asia and expand the economic clout of Asia's fourth-largest economy in the region home to more than half a billion people.

In the last 25 years of diplomatic ties, Vietnam has become South Korea's fourth-largest trading partner while South Korea is Vietnam's second-largest and the biggest investor nation.

The South Korean leader arrived in Hanoi Thursday afternoon and is set to hold a bilateral summit with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and meet with top Vietnamese officials including the
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Prime Minister as well as the Chairwoman of Vietnam's National Assembly on Friday.
Moon Connyoung, Arirang News, Hanoi.