North Korean UNESCO expert invited to Jeju security forum
Hızlı Bakış
- Organizers of the Jeju Forum for Peace & Prosperity are seeking to virtually invite Dr.
- Chang Gwang-chol, a North Korean education expert at UNESCO, to the event.
- If confirmed, this would mark the first participation of a North Korean national in the forum and a continuation of inter-Korean exchanges outside political spheres.
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Organizers of the Jeju Forum for Peace & Prosperity are seeking to invite a North Korean education expert at UNESCO to participate virtually. The forum aims to foster peace and address regional stability through international cooperation.
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- Jeju Island's local government and the foreign ministry are seeking to invite a North Korean education expert at UNESCO to participate virtually at an annual security forum, the unification ministry said Tuesday.
According to the unification ministries, organizers of this year's Jeju Forum for Peace & Prosperity, slated for June 24-26, are looking to bring in Dr. Chang Gwang-chol, chief of education policy at UNESCO, via teleconference.
To facilitate Chang's participation, the annual forum's organizers had asked the unification ministry to approve a request to contact the North Korean, and the ministry granted it, a unification ministry official told reporters.
Chang has worked at the agency's regional offices in Bangkok and Dakar, and held several education policy posts at its Paris headquarters, according to UNESCO's website. Before joining the U.N. agency, he worked at North Korea's education ministry.
If Chang decides to attend, he will become the first North Korean national to take part in the forum. It would also be the latest case of inter-Korean exchanges unfolding outside the political arena, following a North Korean football club's semifinal matches in Suwon, south of Seoul, last month.
"We will have to wait and see as his participation hasn't been confirmed yet," the official said.
In a statement sent to reporters, the foreign ministry said, "Around 70 sessions are scheduled to be held at the upcoming Jeju Forum, and details regarding speakers and schedules are still being coordinated," adding that the speakers for the UNESCO education session have also not yet been finalized.
Asked about reports that Chang is related to a senior North Korean government official, the ministry said it does not have any information to verify or comment on the claim.
Launched in 2001, the forum aims to foster a shared vision for peace on the Korean Peninsula and across the wider region while addressing regional stability and security through international cooperation.
Açık Sorular
- Will Dr. Chang Gwang-chol accept the invitation?
- What is the specific topic of the UNESCO education session?
