1. The North American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the US and Canadian Embassies in the Republic of Korea, held the 1st “Cornerstone Dialogue” at Catholic Kwandong University on April 11, and had an opportunity to communicate with about 40 students.

o The event, held under the theme “PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games’ implications for the ROK’s diplomacy and its relations with the US and Canada,” was attended by Director-General for North American Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Kim Tae-jin, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs of the US Embassy in the ROK Aleisha Woodward, and Colin Wetmore, an official dealing with political and economic affairs at the Embassy of Canada in the ROK.

2. The event, which took place at Catholic Kwandong University in Gangneung, whose stadium was used for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, served as a good opportunity to look at the significance of the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games as a “peace” Olympics, and to promote the ROK-US and ROK-Canada relations that have been further strengthened through it.

o The event made it clear once again that by hosting the Seoul Olympic Summer Games in 1988 and the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games 30 years after that, the ROK established itself as a leader in the global diplomatic arena, as well as one of the countries leading the global economy.

o Furthermore, the full support that the US and Canada showed, including through the dispatch of their respective high-level government delegations to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, as well as the Governor General’s visit to the ROK, not only contributed significantly to the success of the Winter Olympics, but also helped further advance the ROK’s relations with the two countries.

o Building upon this, the ROK will continue to closely consult and cooperate with the US and Canada to make sure that the ROK’s relations with the two countries will develop into more matured relations in a range of areas.

3. The Foreign Ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau will hold the “Cornerstone Dialogue,” a public diplomacy program to reach out to the people, at universities across the country whenever there is an opportunity to do so, and promote the ROK’s policies and further increase communications with the younger generations.

* unofficial translation