By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

President Lee Jae-myung sent invitation letters to the 20 leaders of APEC member countries to attend the APEC summit to be held in Gyeongju this year, the Presidential Office announced on July 15.

Presidential Office spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing on the same day, “President Lee sent a letter on July 14 (Korea time) informing them that this year's APEC summit is scheduled to be held in Gyeongju, South Korea, from October 31 to November 1, and inviting the member countries to the summit.”

Twenty-one countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and Russia, are members of APEC.

In the invitation letter, President Lee highly evaluated APEC's contribution to sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region over the past 30 years and stated, “Under the theme of ‘A Sustainable Tomorrow We Create Together,’ we plan to discuss ways to strengthen regional connectivity, advance digital innovation, and promote prosperity, and we hope that these discussions will bear fruit through the summit.”

Along with sending the letter, the government plans to accelerate preparations for APEC. Spokesperson Kang emphasized, “Since its inception, the Lee Jae-myung administration has made the successful hosting of the APEC summit its top priority and has formed a task force (TF) with the participation of all relevant secretaries to thoroughly review the summit schedule, infrastructure, and other matters to ensure that everything is prepared without any gaps.”

She added, “The government will continue to make thorough preparations to host the summit at the highest level and create an environment for innovative economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.”

When asked about the possibility of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending, spokesperson Kang replied, “China is included in the list of countries to which letters were sent,” but added, “I understand that the final decision on which countries will attend will be announced after it has been finalized.”

When asked whether North Korea could be invited, she replied, “North Korea is not an APEC member, so it was not included in the list of countries to which the letter was sent.”

When asked whether the invitation of North Korea was being considered separately, she said, “It appears to be a matter to be reviewed by the foreign affairs and unification lines, not the presidential office.”