(LEAD) President Moon welcomes six new ambassadors to Seoul

(ATTN: UPDATES with additional details in paras 4-7; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in welcomed the new chiefs of six diplomatic missions to Seoul on Thursday.

Each of the six new foreign ambassadors to South Korea presented Moon with their credentials in separate ceremonies held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

The new ambassadors are Julian Clare of Ireland, Michael Schwarzinger from Austria, Difie Agyarko Kusi from Ghana, Matilda S. Masuka from Tanzania, Piotr Ostaszewski from Poland and Olexander Horin from Ukraine, according to Cheong Wa Dae

Moon asked the new envoys and their countries to continue supporting international efforts to denuclearize North Korea, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun.

"Tensions around the Korean Peninsula are rising due to North Korea's nuclear development and missile provocations," the president was quoted as saying.

"The issue has gone beyond the Northeast Asian region to become an international threat. I appreciate your support for South Korea's stance against the North Korean nuclear issue, and ask for your continued interest and support, as well as thorough implementation of the (U.N.) sanctions resolutions against North Korea," he told the new ambassadors, according to Park.

The president also asked for the countries' interest and active participation in the upcoming Winter Olympic Games to be held in PyeongChang, located some 180 kilometers south of Seoul.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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