Moon attends ceremonial French reception at Hotel de Ville

PARIS, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- 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. An official welcome ceremony for his state visit was held Monday, shortly before his bilateral summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The South Korean president 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 the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, the first female politician ever to hold the office.

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.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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