The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) held a kick-off meeting for the second phase of its Diplomatic AI project on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, chaired by Vice Minister Park Yoonjoo. During the meeting, MOFA outlined the project’s key initiatives and implementation plans.

During the meeting, MOFA introduced various programs designed to strengthen the AI utilization capabilities of its staff, including the operation of an experience zone and the dissemination of practical diplomatic AI use cases to encourage active interest and participation among ministry employees.

Earlier this year, MOFA completed the first phase of its three-year Diplomatic AI project, which began in 2025 to develop AI specialized for diplomatic affairs. The first phase focused on enhancing the efficiency of diplomatic work, and pilot services were launched at the beginning of this year.

The second phase will include the introduction of reasoning models*, the transition to Agentic AI**, and the expansion of Diplomatic AI to overseas missions in the Asian  region. Through these efforts, MOFA aims to build momentum for AI transformation (AX) in diplomacy, including by supporting strategic decision-making in a secure and trustworthy environment for the use of Diplomatic AI.

* AI reasoning: The process by which AI uses given information and rules to derive new logical conclusions.

** Agentic AI: An intelligent AI system in which multiple agents go beyond operating independently as individual AI agents and autonomously collaborate based on a shared objective.

In line with the government-wide direction on AI, MOFA will also carry out a preliminary demonstration project in which LG CNS Consortium and FuriosaAI will collaborate to deploy a national flagship AI model on a domestically developed NPU*.

* Neural Processing Unit (NPU): A computing processor specialized in AI operations, particularly the training and inference of artificial neural networks.

Vice Minister Park Yoonjoo said, “I look forward to developing a sustainable and continuously evolving Diplomatic AI by combining the latest AI technologies with the practical experience of our staff and the expertise of specialists.” He also called for the active participation of employees, including those involved in internal consultative bodies, as well as the continued interest and engagement of the expert advisory group.

Representing the external expert advisory group for the development of Diplomatic AI, Professor Cha Sangkyun of Seoul National University and Vice President Kwon Soonil of Upstage attended the meeting to provide recommendations on the implementation strategy and future development directions for Diplomatic AI.

Embracing the era of AI Transformation (AX), MOFA will continue its efforts to develop specialized Diplomatic AI that ensures both security and utility, while simultaneously enhancing the AI capabilities of its personnel.