UN chief pledges support for denuclearization of North Korea

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin pose for pictures prior to their meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, August 12, 2022. Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - In Seoul for meetings with South Korean leaders, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said he fully supports efforts to completely denuclearize North Korea.

"I would like to take this opportunity to express our full support for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, especially North Korea, and to say that this goal is very fundamentally important for us to achieve regional security, peace and stability," he said when meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol.