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| The KOR-ASIA Forum 2018 hosted by the Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times kicks off at the Dragon City Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. From third from left are former Mongolian President Punsalmaa Ochirbat, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Korea Times and Hankook Ilbo Chairman Seung Myung-ho, National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and former Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri. /Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun |
By Kim Bo-eun
Former and current leaders of Asian nations pledged their support for a process to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and expressed hopes for greater economic cooperation at The KOR-ASIA Forum held in Seoul, Wednesday.
Punsalmaa Ochirbat, former president of Mongolia, said at the forum held at Seoul Dragon City Hotel: "We Mongolians are grateful for the successful completion of a number of important meetings between the Koreas to make peace on the peninsula."
"Mongolia has good neighborly relations with both South and North Korea and is committed to actively participate in the regional development of Northeast Asia," he said.
Ochirbat met North Korean founder Kim Il-sung when he visited Mongolia in 1988.
Former Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri said, "After peace on the Korean Peninsula is accomplished, the further task for Asia is to continuously guard and fill the peace."
She said this means "to fill the peace by not limiting itself to the matters occurring merely on the Asian continent, because we realize now all countries in the world depend on one another."
The former leader was present in 1965when Kim Il-sung met with her father and founder of modern Indonesia, Soekarno.
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Davlatali Said, first deputy prime minister of Tajikistan, said "All Asian countries share the notion that the road to peace and prosperity depends on creating a safe and stable environment, and collaborative efforts for the prosperity of each country as well as the region as a whole will enable the creation of such an environment."
The forum titled "Peace on the Korean Peninsula, Asia's Opportunity for Progress," addressed issues of regional peace and security, as well as the Moon Jae-in administration's plan to boost economic cooperation with Northeast Asia through infrastructure built across North Korea. It also dealt with the administration's policy for greater engagement with countries in Southeast Asia.
The forum was held at a time when relations between South and North Korea are progressing after their leaders held three summits this year and agreed to work toward declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War within the year. While the process for North Korea's denuclearization is ongoing, South Korea is seeking to prepare for economic cooperation with the North, as well as with its Asian neighbors.
Around 400 people attended the forum, from the government, National Assembly, corporations, financial institutions and embassies.
Dignitaries included National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon. Also attending were Kim Byong-joon, chairman of the emergency committee of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party; Chung Dong-young, leader of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace; and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kim Young-choon.
"We hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula to lead to the peace and prosperity of Asia so we can open an era of Pax Asiana," the Assembly speaker said, referring to the eras of Pax Romana, Pax Britanica and Pax Americana.
The prime minister said "If the Korean Peninsula becomes a source of peace, it will be an opportunity for a leap forward not only for the peninsula but also for Asia."
Government officials and members of academia from Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China also attended the event.
The KOR-ASIA Forum 2018 was co-hosted by the Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times.
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