Top 67 Quotes & Sayings by Moon Jae-in

The relationship with China has become more important, not only in terms of economic cooperation but also for strategic cooperation for the peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. That is why I am pursuing a balanced diplomacy with the U.S. as well as China.

I will do whatever it takes to help settle peace on the Korean Peninsula.

If necessary, we will have to strengthen sanctions even further, but the goal of sanctions must be to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.

One of the biggest problems with this THAAD deployment decision was that it lacked democratic procedure, and it has resulted in a wide division of the nation and aggravated foreign relations.

Poverty dictated my childhood. But there were benefits as well: I became independent, more mature than my peers, and I realized that money is not the most important thing in life.

I myself hate the communist North Korean system. That doesn't mean I should let the people in the North suffer under an oppressive regime.

I will be the proud president of a proud nation.

We will prevent war, whatever it takes.

I will be a president that can share a glass of soju with the public after work.

To respond to North Korea by having our own nuclear weapons will not maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula and could lead to a nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia.

No one shall take a military action on the Korean Peninsula without South Korean consent.

I'll always be on the move for peace in the Korean peninsula. If necessary, I will fly straight to Washington. I will go to Beijing and Tokyo and, if the conditions allow, to Pyongyang as well.

I am well aware of the concern and fear of the Chinese about the THAAD deployment.

My goal is to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem and solidify peace during my term.

For Korea, ASEAN has undoubtedly been a special and valued friend.

Kim Jong-un is not a rational person.

South Korea was able to build its national security thanks to the U.S., and the two nations will work together on the North Korean nuclear issue. However, I believe we need to be able to take the lead on matters in the Korean Peninsula as the country directly involved.

I was thinking I wanted to finish my life there in Hungnam doing pro bono service.

When I drink a little, I sometimes recall my old days. Then I ask myself, 'What does Roh Moo-hyun mean in my life?' He really defined my life. My life would have changed a lot if I didn't meet him. So he is my destiny.

The president who achieved a true democracy. The president who built a peaceful relationship between the North and the South. The president who achieved a more equal and fair economy. That's how I want to be remembered.

I will engage in sincere negotiations with the United States and China to find a solution to the THAAD problem.

The North and South were one people sharing one language and one culture for about 5,000 years. Ultimately, we should reunite.

I hope peace is a part of everyday life.

We must embrace the North Korean people as part of the Korean nation, and to do that, whether we like it or not, we must recognize Kim Jong-un as their ruler and as our dialogue partner.

My parents fled from North Korea during the Korean War because they despised the North Korean Communist regime. They fled to seek freedom and came to South Korea.

I will become a clean president. I will become a president who can retire home as an ordinary citizen and is welcomed by neighbors.

When peaceful reunification comes, the first thing I want to do is to take my 90-year-old mother and go to her home town.

South Korea and the U.S. share common interests with regard to the North Korean nuclear issue, so I promise that South Korea will fully consult with the U.S. on the deployment of THAAD.

I believe President Trump is more reasonable than he is generally perceived. President Trump uses strong rhetoric toward North Korea, but during the election campaign, he also said he could talk over a burger with Kim Jong-un. I am for that kind of pragmatic approach to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

My father fled from the North, hating communism.

The alliance with the United States is and will always be the foundation of our diplomacy and national security.

Whenever democracy has fallen into a crisis, the Korean people have sprung up in rage.

President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace.

I will strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

We can't afford to lose all that we've built from the ashes of the Korean War.

There will be no war repeated on the Korean Peninsula.

In 1988, the Summer Olympics were held in Korea, which was a divided country... It was an opportunity for the East and the West to come together in harmony and also take a significant role in ending the Cold War era.

I believe that dialogue is necessary. We were unable to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through only the sanctions and pressure.

My best quality is that I am persistent. My worst is that I am no fun.

I do not agree that South Korea needs to develop our own nuclear weapons or relocate tactical nuclear weapons in the face of North Korea's nuclear threat.

We must work to make the South-North Korea dialogue lead to talks between the United States and North Korea. Only then can we peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

I will restore a government based on principle and justice.

I do not see it as desirable for South Korea to take the back seat and watch discussions between the U.S. and China.

Denuclearization and the lasting peace on the Korean peninsula cannot be abandoned or delayed, as they are the historical assignment.

I will be president for all South Koreans.

Creating a structure for mutual prosperity requires lowering regional and transnational barriers to facilitate the flow of goods and promote people-to-people interactions.

I could sit down with Kim Jong-un, but I will not meet him for the sake of meeting him. I will meet Kim Jong-un when preconditions of resolving the nuclear issue are assured.

As a sovereign state, we should have operational command of our forces returned to us at an appropriate time. Korea and the United States have already reached an agreement where we will receive operational control of our forces when the conditions are met.

North Korea continues to advance its nuclear technology and will soon reach weaponization. Regarding its intercontinental ballistic missiles, it is continuously making progress. So currently, it is urgent for us to freeze North Korea's program so they will stop additional provocations and stop advancement of its technologies. I believe during my upcoming summit meeting in the U.S. I will be able to discuss a two-phased approach to the North Korean nuclear issue - the first being a freeze and the second being complete dismantlement.

When it comes to dialogue between South and North Korea and between the United States and North Korea, these can go on parallel tracks. South Korea and the United States can each play a role.

Kim Jong Un is an unreasonable leader and a very dangerous person. Yet he is the person who has effective control over North Korea, and he is the person who has the authority to denuclearize North Korea.

As long as North Korea continues its provocations, I believe that we will have no choice but to apply additional and strong pressure on it. At the same time, it is also important to send out a message to North Korea that if it decides to denuclearize and to come to the negotiating table, then we are willing to assist them.

Humanitarian assistance and exchanges are still allowed, even under the sanctions regime on North Korea. Therefore, in parallel with sanctions and pressure, we must also employ humanitarian assistance. The meeting of separated families is also a measure to ensure human rights.

It is very deplorable that North Korea still does not uphold human rights, which are universal values.

Fairness and justice will be the base of my government.

For now we must continue to strengthen our sanctions and pressure on North Korea.

Korea and the U.S. have maintained a combined forces command system for a long time. Even if we were to get operational control back, as long as this combined system is maintained, our countries will continue to have combined security, and U.S. forces will continue to play their part in our security.

The message that we must send to North Korea is twofold: If the North Korean regime believes that it can defend and protect itself through nuclear and missile programs, that is a misjudgment. But if North Korea gives up its nuclear program, we will help it secure and develop itself. We must consistently send these two messages.

What Korea and the U.S. both ultimately seek to achieve is the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program.

During the periods when South Korea played a more active role, the inter-Korean relationship was more peaceful, and there was less tension between the United States and North Korea. The last U.S. administration pursued a policy of strategic patience and did not make any effort to improve its relationship with North Korea. Also, the previous Korean government did not make any such efforts. The result is the reality you see today - North Korea continuing to advance its nuclear and missile program.