World leaders to discuss East Asia's peace and prosperity
Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-gyun speaks during an opening session of the 10th Jeju Forum at Haevichi Hotel in Jeju Island, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Jeju Forum Secretariat
By Kim Hyo-jin
An international forum kicked off Wednesday, aiming to seek ways to tackle regional issues and boost peace and prosperity in East Asia.
The 10th Jeju Forum is attracting some 4,000 world political leaders, scholars, businessmen, heads of international organizations and media at the Jeju Haevichi Hotel to set out a vision for better regional cooperation.
“Now is the time to reaffirm our vision of launching a community which encompasses all of Southeast and Northeast Asia,” Kim Hong-gyun, Foreign Ministry's deputy minister for political affairs, said during an opening session.
Taking the cases of European Union and ASEAN, Kim stressed East Asia needs to share a long-term vision of regional community through “unwavering commitment.”
“By further developing our regional cooperation, we can gradually resolve the trust deficit issue, establish a sense of community, and be one step closer to achieving a peaceful and prosperous East Asian community,” he said.
The three-day forum consists of some 60 sessions, covering diverse regional issues including reunification of the Korean Peninsula, regional security and nuclear threats, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and environmental cooperation.
A notable session will feature a dialogue with former Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroder on Thursday.
Schroder who was in power from 1998-2005 conducted structural reforms for the nation as it dealt with the aftermath of reunification.
He is expected to provide advice and insights into how to prepare for unification of the Korean Peninsula.
Other prominent participants include former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark, former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
They are scheduled to participate in a world leaders’ session and discuss how to promote peace in East Asia.
The annual forum will also provide sessions covering Korean foreign policy on trust-building, the Eurasia initiative and middle power diplomacy.
On the last day, experts in Korean diplomacy plan to deliver their thoughts on challenges including the possible Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment.
The session will feature Song Min-soon, who served as foreign minister under the Roh Moo-hyun government, Yu Myung-hwan and Kim Sung-hwan, who both served under the Lee Myung-bak administration.
The Jeju Forum began in 2005 to mark the anniversary of the inter-Korean summit. It aims to further promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. Over the past 10 years, it has grown to be a global platform to discuss and seek directions on peace and prosperity in East Asia.