1. On March 24, Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam attended the plenary meeting of the Trilateral Commission (March 23-25, Singapore/ three chairmen, including Joseph Nye,  former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), an international private-sector consultative forum which is influential on issues related to international relations. In a session titled “changing security situation in Northeast Asia,” Vice Minister Lim delivered a keynote address, and participated in a panel discussion, during which he explained the ROK government’s position on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and exchanged views on the issue.

※ Trilateral Commission

- Founder: David Rockefeller, former chairman of JPMorgan Chase/ Chairmen (one for each region): Joseph Nye, former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (North American Chairman), Yasuchika Hasegawa, CEO of Takeda Pharmaceutical (Asia Pacific Chairman), Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank (European Chairman)

- It is a non-governmental organization established in 1973 to strengthen cooperation among Asia, North America and Europe, and its members are distinguished scholars and former government officials from around the world. It holds its annual plenary meeting every year to discuss issues of the international community.

※ Participants in the panel discussion: Paula Dobriansky, senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School (moderator), Wendy Sherman, former US Under Secretary of State, John Scarlett, former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Hitoshi Tanaka, former Chairman of the Institute for International Strategy (IIS) at the Japan Research Institute, Wu Xinbo, Director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai

※ The plenary meeting was attended by about 100 members of the Trilateral Commission.

2. In his keynote address, Vice Minister Lim asked for the international community’s keen interest and support to make sure that the momentum for inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits, created through inter-Korean talks, including those held during mutual visits by special envoys on the occasion of the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, leads to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of a lasting peace on the Peninsula.

3. Vice Minister Lim’s keynote address and participation in the discussion served as an opportunity to help participants in the Trilateral Commission meeting, opinion leaders around the world, better understand the ROK government’s Korean Peninsula policy, and to contribute to increasing their understanding of the need and prospects for a diplomatic and peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue, as well as support for efforts to achieve it.

* unofficial translation