1. On October 27, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun attended the second-day meeting of “the 13th Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium,” under way at APEC House in Busan. At the event, he delivered a keynote speech on “the Moon Jae-in government’s new northern policy” to some 200 people from academia, press and various other sectors of the Republic of Korea, the US, Russia, China and Mongolia.

※ The Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium, an international conference launched in 2005 as a formal symposium of the APEC summit, is co-hosted by the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture and the Busan Metropolitan City on an annual basis. It mainly covers peace in Northeast Asia as well as regional and global situations.

2. In his keynote speech, Vice Minister Cho noted that the goal of the ROK government’s “new northern policy” is to pave the way for economic prosperity and sustainable growth on the Eurasian continent; and to alleviate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, to induce North Korea to dialogue and cooperation, and thereby to build a permanent peace in Eurasia.

° The Vice Minister went on to say that in a bid to carry out its “new northern policy,” the ROK government had formed the “Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation,” which will function as the control tower in drawing up and implementing measures for substantive cooperation with relevant agencies of Eurasian countries.

° In addition, the Vice Minister, pointing out that successful economic cooperation among Eurasian countries will help induce the participation of North Korea, underscored northern cooperation as one of the possible, fundamental solutions to the North Korean nuclear issue.

° Vice Minister Cho mentioned that it is a historical calling for the ROK to work steadily with Eurasian countries, home to 4.5 billion people, to make the continent a peaceful and prosperous one. On that note, he suggested that everyone in the Eurasian countries, including those in the academic and press circles, work constructively together toward a future of peace and shared prosperity.

3. The Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium, where Vice Minister Cho shared with the other participants the ROK government’s position regarding its “new northern policy” and put forward ways to promote northern cooperation with Eurasian countries, is seen to have served as an opportunity to help Eurasia experts better understand the ROK government’s “new northern policy.”


* unofficial translation