1. “An international conference on the Republic of Korea’s New Southern Policy” took place at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), Seoul, on July 3. The event was hosted by the KNDA and brought together some 150 people from home and abroad, including Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and former Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan from the ROK; former Secretary-General of ASEAN Ong Keng Yong from Singapore; President of the Diplomatic Academy Nguyen Vu Tung from Vietnam; and Chairman of the Observer Research Foundation Sunjoy Joshi from India.

° The conference, held ahead of the ROK President’s upcoming visit to India and Singapore, was organized to promote understanding on the New Southern Policy, one of the ROK government’s major foreign policies, amid the broad interest therein at home and abroad; and to seek ways to effectively implement the Policy.

2. In his keynote speech, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, calling the policy regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the New Southern Policy not separate from but closely linked to each other, underscored the importance of ASEAN and India understanding and supporting the efforts toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

° In session I of the international conference, experts in ASEAN and Indian affairs from home and abroad discussed in depth the ROK’s new role toward peace and prosperity in East Asia.

3. Session II took place among Ambassadors from ASEAN countries and India to the ROK in the form of roundtable. In session III on “the direction of the New Southern Policy: strategic challenges and opportunities,” specific ideas were presented as to how to effectively implement the Policy and potential areas for cooperation on the Policy.

4. The “international conference on the ROK’s New Southern Policy,” which was hosted by the KNDA and where various specific implementation measures for the Policy were put forward, is expected to help to increase the number of specific ways that the Policy can be implemented.

5. Going forward, the KNDA will continue to carry out a variety of research activities and to put forward policy suggestions in a bid to support an effective implementation of the ROK government’s New Southern Policy.

* unofficial translation