1. The Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA)’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) held a Conference on Global Affairs on December 12. The event brought together some 300 people, including former and incumbent government officials and prominent scholars from home and abroad as well as Korean politicians, foreign diplomats to the Republic of Korea and delegates from international organizations; and covered challenges posed by the fourth industrial revolution and the way forward for the ROK’s diplomacy.

° In her welcoming remarks, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stressed that the ROK should brace itself for changes to be brought by the fourth industrial revolution and make strategic choices in a bid to fully safeguard national interests.

° In his opening remarks, KNDA Chancellor Cho Sei-young, saying that the fourth industrial revolution was exerting impact on international relations as well, highlighted the need for the ROK to seek diplomatic strategies that called for a wise use of the state-of-the-art technology of the 21^st century.

° In her congratulatory remarks, Adviser to the President for Science and Technology Moon Mi-ok, saying that the wave of the fourth industrial revolution was leading to the emergence of “a new ICBM (Iot, Cloud, Big-data, Mobile),” emphasized that it was the ROK’s task to develop those elements in a harmonious way.

2. At the roundtable, five discussants, including Seoul National University professor Lee Geun, discussed in depth new foreign policy agenda; challenges and opportunities posed to the ROK’s diplomacy; and ways for international cooperation in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.

* unofficial translation