Moon Jae-in attends ceremonial French reception at Hotel de Ville

South Korean President Moon Jae-in received a warm welcome on Tuesday in a traditional ceremony afforded to foreign leaders making a state visit to Paris.

The ceremonial event was held at the Hotel de Ville, the building housing the local administration of Paris.

"The welcome reception at Paris city hall is part of a program for Moon's state visit that the French side prepared, and was held in the Salle des Fetes (Room of Celebration) at the city hall and attended by some 300 officials and residents of Paris, including South Korean expatriates," Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.

Moon arrived here Saturday on a four-day state visit.
The ceremonial event followed an official welcome ceremony held Monday to mark Moon's state visit to France, shortly before his bilateral summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

   During their summit, Moon and Macron discussed ways to peacefully denuclearize North Korea, while the South Korean president asked France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to help ease international sanctions on North Korea to accelerate its denuclearization process.

   Moon again asked for France's support for his peace initiative in Tuesday's event, also attended by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

   "The Korean Peninsula is now facing a period of great transition that will go on world history. We are gathering our wisdom and strength to dissolve the last remaining order of the Cold War on the earth and move toward an era of peace and reconciliation," he said.

   "I and our people will create peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through an alliance with the international community. The support of the people of France, who created beautiful Paris and great France with their revolutionary minds, will be of greater help than any others," he added.

   The South Korean president also expressed gratitude for the warm welcome he received from the people of Paris.

   "President Moon explained how his government was working to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula and asked the people of Paris, who have spearheaded changes in world history for centuries, to support his efforts," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.

   Following the reception, Moon held a meeting with Hidalgo, the first female mayor of Paris.

   The president asked for Paris' support for joint participation of South and North Korean athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, noting the divided Koreas have agreed to field joint teams in major international sporting events and also to seek to jointly host the 2032 Olympic Games.