1. The Foreign Ministry, in a bid to step up cooperation with Russia on the development of the Arctic route, will hold an event on “Eurasia-Arctic route connectivity” in St. Petersburg (from June 13 till 15) and Murmansk (from June 15 till 17), gateway cities to the Arctic.

° The aforementioned event will come as part of the Republic of Korea’s efforts to implement its Eurasia Initiative, which calls for exchanges, cooperation and co-prosperity in Eurasia. The ROK, which sought to enhance the connectivity by land through its “Eurasia Express” project in July 2015, will hold the event to promote the connectivity at sea through the Arctic route, the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe.

2. A politico-economic conference of the ROK-Russia Dialogue mechanism, the signature forum for cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries, and a seminar on the ROK-Russia Arctic cooperation will take place in St. Petersburg on June 14 and in Murmansk on June 16, respectively, to seek ways for the two countries to work together in enhancing the connectivity in Eurasia through the Arctic route.

° The politico-economic conference on June 14 will bring together major figures from the governments, parliaments, businesses, academias, and media outlets of the two countries, including Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, for in-depth discussions on ways for bilateral cooperation on the Arctic development and security issues in Northeast Asia.

° The seminar on the ROK-Russia Arctic cooperation on June 16 will mark the first international seminar on bilateral Arctic development to take place in Murmansk, the largest ice-free port in the Arctic region. The event will comprehensively cover ways for the ROK and Russia to work together on the development of the Arctic sea and route as well as ways to enhance connectivity through the Arctic route.

3. In conjunction with the “Eurasia-Arctic route connectivity” event, joint ROK-Russia performances will be staged in St. Petersburg and Murmunsk to enhance mutual understanding of each other’s cultures and increase exchanges and cooperation in the sector with those gateway cities to the Arctic route.

4. The “Eurasia-Arctic route connectivity” event is expected to help broaden the scope of future-oriented, mutually-beneficial private-public cooperation between the ROK and Russia to include the development of the Arctic route.

° The ROK plans to hold in October “Eurasia-Yellow Sea and Eurasia-East Sea connectivity” events within the framework of its Eurasia Initiative in Yantai, Dalian and Hunchun, China, as well as Vladivostok, Russia.


* unofficial translation