By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated in the plenary meeting of the Third Tashkent International Investment Forum at the Congress Center in Tashkent on May 2. The event was also attended by the Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore Seah Kian Peng, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Japarov, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso, Executive Secretary of the
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Goyang Special City (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) held an international cooperation promotion meeting inviting ambassadors from 32 countries at KINTEX on April 27. At the event, the ambassadors discussed ways to expand the number of countries participating in the Goyang International Flower Expo, revitalize coffee industry and cultural exchanges, and promote and cooperate on the designation of a free economic zone. Mayor Lee Dong-hwan welcomed and thanked the ambassadors from 32 countries, saying, “Today's world is forming a global village where boundaries between coun
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Shin Won-sik held the 6th Korea-Australia Foreign Affairs and Defense (2+2) Ministerial Meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Melbourne, Australia on May 1. They exchanged in-depth views on the Korean Peninsula and regional affairs. Following the meeting, the ministers held a joint press conference and adopted a joint statement as the outcome document of the meeting. This was the first 2+2 ministerial meeting held since the inauguration
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young | President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Angolan President João Lourenço to exchange views on ways to promote practical cooperation between the two countries and the regional and international situation on April 30. The two leaders noted that friendly and cooperative ties have been steadily developing since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, and noted that recent high-level exchanges at all levels, including a phone call between the leaders last November, have further enhanced bilateral relations. President Yoon expressed his appr
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Following successful negotiations between Vice Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Talgat Lastayev and Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of Korea Lee Yoon-sang in February in Sejong, as well as bilateral aviation consultations in March in Almaty, national flag carrier of Kazakhstan, Air Astana, is set to resume flights between the capitals of the two countries. The resumption of the Astana-Seoul route will begin on June 15, 2024. The flights will be operated twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using Airbus A321LR aircraft, each with
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held talks with Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party at the Yongsan presidential office on April 29. According to Lee Do-woon, chief of the presidential press office, the meeting lasted about two hours and 15 minutes. The presidential office was represented by the secretary, chief political affairs officer, and chief public relations officer, while the Democratic Party of Korea was represented by the secretary, policy chairman, and chief spokesperson. The meeting discussed a variety of issues, centered on the
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Hanam City Mayor Lee Hyun-jae held a tea meeting with Italian Ambassador to Korea Emilia Gatto and Italian Cultural Center Director Michela Linda Magri at the Hanam Culture and Arts Center on April 27, the city said. The city organized the meeting to discuss expanding cultural, tourism, and artistic exchanges with Amb. Emilia Gatto, who is visiting the Hanam Arts Center to watch a performance of the ballet “Don Quixote,” which commemorates the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy this year. The relationship between Korea and Italy i
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Folk painting is a composite art, and the fact that all Korean crafts always have folk-like paintings on them allows us to speculate on the function of Korean folk paintings. In other words, folk paintings are not just decorations on celadon, white porcelain, cabinets, pencil cases, and many other crafts, but they are an important folk painting element without which a work of art would be lifeless. Folk paintings, which are the most obvious manifestation of the Korean people's sense of aesthetics and sculpture, have been one of the most important elements of Kore
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee President Yoon Suk-yeol received the credentials of nine new foreign ambassadors to South Korea at a ceremony held at the presidential office on April 26. The nine ambassadors-designate are: H.E. Jacques Flies from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, H.E. Georgiy Zinoviev from the Russian Federation, H.E. Jeffrey David Robinson from Australia, H.E. Marek Repovský from the Slovak Republic, H.E. Petar Kraytchev from the Republic of Bulgaria, H.E. Vu Ho from the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, H.E. Emmy Jerono Kipsoi from the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Jorge Enrique Valerio
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo SK On, a leading global electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer, announced that its Cobalt-free battery has won a Bronze award in the Smart Transportation category at the prestigious 2024 Edison Awards on April 18. The latest honor not only shows SK On's technological prowess but also underscores the company’s commitment to ethical innovation and sustainable progress in the green energy sector. SK On's Cobalt-free battery is considered a breakthrough in EV battery technologies, overcoming technological barriers in cobalt-free cathode material compositions. R
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young Ansan City announced that an economic delegation, headed by Mayor Lee Min-geun officially visited Dresden, Germany on April 24 (local time) and held a meeting to explore international cooperation. At the meeting, the two cities discussed mutual strategies for building a high-tech semiconductor cluster and attracting global companies while exploring ways to cooperate in the future. Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony, located in eastern Germany, 189 kilometers south of the capital Berlin. It is one of the important cities of the former East Germany,
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Romanian President Klaus Iohannis visited the headquarters of Doosan Enerbility in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on April 24 and met with Chairman & CEO Park Gee-won of the company. Romania is in the process of building its first small modular reactor (SMR) power plant. Romania's RoPower is planning to build a 462-megawatt (MW) SMR plant at the site of a coal-fired power plant in the Doişeşti region. US-based NuScale Power will supply six 77-megawatt (MW) SMRs to the plant, and Doosan Enerbility will manufacture and deliver reactor modules, the core equipment
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo | In accordance with the decree No 59 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 7, 2022, "On measures to organize and hold the international folklore festival "Boysun Spring", the international folklore festival "Boysun Spring" is held once every two years in Boysun District, Surkhandarya Region. This festival, which is planned to be held on May 1-7 this year, includes a newly established 6-hectare area located in the "Bibishirin" neighborhood of Boysun district (a modern hotel with 110 seats, a center for 100 seats of artisans, a
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo April 26 is the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. On this day, people all over the world recall Chernobyl, a sacrifice of those who without sparing their lives and health stopped the radiation disaster and prevented a larger disaster. As a result of explosions at Unit 4, the reactor was completely destroyed. The accident was accompanied by fires and releases of radioactive substances. The radioactive cloud passed over the USSR, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and affected more than 20 countries. The contamination of the territory of Belarus amounted
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Kazakh President Tokayev received the CEO of KIA Corporation, Song Ho-sung on April 23, 2024. During their meeting, it was emphasized that the production of cars is one of the key areas of Kazakhstan’s industrial policy. CEO Song talked about the progress of construction of a full-cycle car production plant in Kostanay, which will be built in 2025. This ambitious project has already attracted over 200 million US dollars in investment and is expected to create 1,500 permanent jobs. The plant is designed with a capacity to produce 70,000 cars annually, with 50,00