While in New York for the next five days... President Moon Jae-in has a lot on his plate aside from addressing the 74th UN General Assembly.
And the hope is that his days in the Big Apple.... will grease the gears for a smooth restart of the stalled denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S.
Our presidential office correspondent Shin Se-min reports from New York.
Two moments stand out as the highlights of President Moon Jae-in's marathon five-day trip to New York.
First, his one-on-one with his American counterpart Donald Trump on Monday, local time, which will largely focus on North Korea-related matters.
Second is his speech to other world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
It will be another occasion for the South Korean leader to show the world what Seoul has been doing to try and denuclearize the peninsula and forge a lasting peace.
"The spirit of the UN, which aims for world peace through multilateral talks, is most needed on the Korean Peninsula."
The 9th summit between Presidents Moon and Trump will be their first since President Trump came to Seoul in late June.
With their meeting scheduled on what appears to be the cusp of North Korea and the U.S. resuming working-level nuclear talks, the issue is likely to be at the heart of their discussions.
They both want to ensure the working-level talks go smoothly so the process can gather some much-needed momentum after months of stagnation.
Prior to his arrival in New York, President Moon expressed his determination to do all he can to foster peace and prosperity in the region.
"Through my summit with President Trump, I will actively support talks between North Korea and the U.S."
Also on the president's agenda,... upgrading the already strong bilateral relations between Seoul and Washington.
A more touchy subject is negotiating next year’s cost-sharing agreement for U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
The trade row between South Korea and Japan could also come up, considering the U.S. government's well-publicized disappointment that Seoul terminated an intel-sharing pact with Japan as part of its response to Tokyo's trade curbs.
The uptick in tensions has put the U.S. in a tough spot as South Korea and Japan are key U.S. allies in the region and the linchpins of the ongoing denuclearization efforts.
Also on the schedule on his first day in New York, President Moon will have meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as well as his Polish and Danish counterparts on strengthening two-way ties.
"The president’s biggest overseas mission this time is picking up his mediator role in the stalled nuclear talks between North Korea and the U.S.
He sees himself as the best positioned to solidly lay the foundation for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News, New York."