1. An international conference on a “Responsible Northeast Asia Plus Community” will take place at the Shilla Hotel in Jeju on December 15, with about 30 private sector experts from home and abroad in attendance. The conference will be sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organized by the Jeju Peace Institute.

o In the conference, scholars from ten countries -- the ROK, the US, China, Japan, Russia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and India -- will gather to discuss the creation of a “Responsible Northeast Asia Plus Community,” one of the ROK government’s policy tasks for regional cooperation. They will assess the current situation, and make recommendations on ways to implement it.

* To create a “Responsible Northeast Asia Plus Community,” one of the ROK government’s 100 policy tasks, there are three tasks to do -- △building a “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Platform” for multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia, △pursuing the “New Southern Policy” to strengthen relations with ASEAN and India, and △pursuing the “New Northern Policy” to enhance connectivity with Eurasia.

2. In the conference, government officials, including Director-General for Policy Planning of the Foreign Ministry Ma Sang-yoon and director for planning and coordination of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation Lee Tae-lim, will tell private sector experts about the ROK government’s commitment and efforts, and engage in robust discussions on the tasks to create a “Responsible Northeast Asia Plus Community.”

o The ROK government stressed its commitment to the New Northern Policy and the New Southern Policy, the “pillars of prosperity,” through the President’s series of diplomatic engagements, including participation in the Eastern Economic Forum (September 7) and visits to Southeast Asian countries (November 8-15). The government also created an environment to build a “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Platform,” the “pillar of peace,” by holding regional multilateral dialogues, including the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Forum (November 16-17).


* unofficial translation