1. As part of efforts to accomplish more achievements from President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to China and create an environment for the development of new relations between the two countries, the ROK-China high-level think tank forum will take place in Beijing on December 11. The forum will be co-hosted by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy of the ROK, and the Charhar Institute and the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs of China.

o A delegation of the ROK to the 1.5-track forum will be led by Ambassador for Public Diplomacy of the Foreign Ministry Park Enna, and consist of people from academia and the media, including Director of the Center for Chinese Studies of the KNDA Chung Sang-ki.

2. At the forum, the two sides will review the current state of the ROK-China relations, explore ways to enhance tangible cooperation after President Moon’s visit to China, and discuss ways to resolve issues on the Korean Peninsula peacefully through an objective assessment of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, as well as the roles of think tanks and the media to move the bilateral relations in the right direction.

o Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Park Enna, head of the ROK delegation, will assess the progress in advancing the relations between the two countries, which mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and stress that the opinion leaders of the two sides need to work for the new bilateral relations based on trust and friendship to move in the right direction following the ROK-China summit in December.

3. The upcoming forum, which will take place two days before the first state visit to China by President Moon since his inauguration, is expected to become a useful opportunity to create a positive environment ahead of the summit between the two countries.

o The event is expected to serve as an opportunity to exchange views and build consensus on the right way forward for the bilateral relations with people in China’s academia and media, and thereby help accomplish more achievements from President Moon’s visit to China.

o In addition, a number of people from the media, which have a big influence on the general public, will attend the forum. They are expected to contribute to creating a friendly atmosphere between the people of the two countries by discussing the roles of the media in developing mature bilateral relations.


* unofficial translation