By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo "I sincerely hope that the 2025 APEC Summit will be held in Gyeongju, a city that represents the history and culture of the Republic of Korea, and that the President of Peru will visit Gyeongju," said Peruvian Ambassador to South Korea Paulo Duclos on Jan. 24. When Ambassador Paulo Duclos met with Gyeongju City Mayor Joo Nak-young at the Gyeongju City Hall in Gyeongbuk Province on Jan. 24, he expressed his hope for Gyeongju to host the 2025 APEC Summit. Peru, which is celebrating 61 years of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea, is hosting this year'
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo U.S. Senior Official for the DPRK Dr. Jung H. Pak travelled to Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK), on January 17-18 to hold the latest round of Trilateral Special Representative consultations on the DPRK with ROK Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Namazu Hiroyuki, according to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Jan. 19. The three senior officials shared assessments of recent developments related to the DPRK, including its unlawful transfer
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation unveiled the ‘Active Air Skirt’ (AAS) technology on Jan. 23 that minimizes the aerodynamic resistance generated during high-speed driving, effectively improving the driving range and driving stability of electric vehicles (EVs). AAS is a technology that controls the flow of air entering through the lower part of the bumper and effectively controls the turbulence generated around the vehicle wheels by operating variably according to the vehicle speed during high-speed driving. In the EV era, competition to secure a bette
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The UN expert working to eliminate rape during wartime has been invited to Israel by the Government to gather information on sexual violence reportedly committed in the context of the 7 October Hamas attacks and their aftermath, the UN News reported on Jan. 25. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, will also visit the occupied West Bank, where she will meet with the Palestinian Authority, civil society organizations, recently released detainees and other relevant actors. The visit is set to start on J
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Gyeonggi-do Governor Kim Dong-yeon, who is visiting Switzerland and France to strengthen international exchanges and attract investment, met with Valérie Pécresse, governor of Île-de-France, to discuss cooperation. Governor Kim Dong-yeon and Governor Valérie Pécresse had breakfast at the Ile-de-France Provincial Office on Jan. 19 and discussed concrete action plans on startups, climate change, high-tech industries, and youth exchange. "I think there is a lot of potential for cooperation between the two regions in terms of startups, high-tech industries, climate
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The following is the remarks of UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the meeting of the Global Counter-Terrorism Compact on Jan. 24, 2024. –Ed. Excellencies, Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends, Thank you for coming together here at the United Nations Headquarters. Now this building, and our organization, represent humanity’s highest ideals. Peace, dialogue, development, human rights and collaboration. Terrorism represents the polar opposite of these ideals. No one is immune from this global threat. Today’s meeting focuses on a clear and present danger to a conti
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Kim Kyong-hae, CEO of Communications Korea (CK), won the Silver Award in the PR LEGEND category at the INDIE AWARDS 2023, the world's most prestigious PR awards, held on January 24 in London, UK, the PR company said on Jan. 25. The awards are given to legendary figures in the global PR industry. “Thenetworkone,” a global independent network connecting more than 1,600 companies in the PR, advertising and media sectors in 119 countries around the world, is based in London, UK, and annually holds the INDIE AWARDS ceremony to recognize outstanding individuals in th
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and chairman of SK Group, at the KCCI building in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 24 to discuss current issues in the business community and cooperation in the fields of foreign affairs and security. Cho, who took office on Jan. 12, has been visiting economic organizations and exchanging views with their leaders on ways to strengthen public-private partnerships. On Jan. 22, he met with Ryu Jin, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). Among thos
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The Seoul Gyeonggi North Construction Branch of the Korea Construction Workers' Union (KCWU) held a press conference on Jan. 23 in front of the GS headquarters in Jongno, Seoul to condemn GS E&C (Engineering & Construction)'s shoddy and poor construction. At the same time, at the Dignity Xi apartment site in Yangpyeong-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, they condemned GS E&C for conducting concrete pouring work in the middle of a snowstorm, saying that it was doing so to save costs, even though there was a risk that it would lead to poor construction. Ac
By Diplomacy Journal Kim Ji-eun Gyeongnam Traffic Culture Training Institute (GTCTI) T-Gallery is an exhibition space for people who love art and culture, displaying various artworks freely. Not only the works of local artists, but also the works of famous artists from home and abroad are on display to convey the joy of art to many people. T-Gallery holds new exhibitions every month. The exhibitions cover various forms of artworks such as painting, photography, sculpture, and installation art. In particular, we strive to reach out to visitors related to education within the GTCTI. This time, T
By Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by Madina Aripova, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to the Diplomacy Journal for publication via the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul. –Ed. On January 23-25 of this year, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will pay a state visit to the People's Republic of China, which, will undoubtedly be of high significance and will give a new impetus to the expansion and deepening of Uzbek-Chinese cooperation. At present, despite geopolitical
By Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Seoul to the Diplomacy Journal for publication. –Ed. January 20, 2024 marks the 34th anniversary of the military invasion and killing of civilians in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan by the forces of the Soviet Army on January 20, 1990. In response to the rising national independence movement, the Soviet leadership ordered some 26000 troops with heavy military equipment to storm the city of Baku in an operation called “Strike”. The Soviet army sent to the country in order to forcefully suppress the mass protests o
By Kayla Lee Professor Lee Mi-hyung of the Department of Cultural Contents at Myeongji University's Future Education Center will hold a graduation exhibition of the first class of the K-Folk Painting Leader Course, "Hihidamdam (喜喜談談, Joy and story)," from Jan. 23 to 28 at Hanokcheong in Bukchon, Jongno-gu, Seoul. The exhibition is the result of a year-long process under the guidance of Professor Lee, in which the students learned about the historical value and beauty of traditional folk paintings that they should master as leaders. Made up of the Chinese characters for "joy" and "story," "Hihi
By Kayla Lee Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is attending the Davos Forum in Davos, Switzerland, attended three forum sessions on Jan. 17, including one on Pacific regional cooperation. He also held bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Mongolia and Slovakia, and met with representatives of global companies including Coca-Cola and Amazon Web Services. The Prime Minister attended the "Leading the Pacific" session, where he discussed with participants how to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth in the Pacific region. During the session, Prime Minister Han emphasized the growing str
By Lee Kap-soo South Korea's military strength is the fifth strongest in the world, according to a new report. North Korea, on the other hand, was ranked 36th. According to the '2024 Global Firepower' report released by the U.S. military power assessment organization Global Firepower (GFP) on Jan. 19, South Korea scored 0.1416 on the military power assessment index, ranking fifth among 145 countries surveyed. This is an improvement from last year's ranking (6th). South Korea's GFP military power ranking has steadily risen to ninth in 2013 and seventh in 2014, and has remained at sixth from 202