On April 17, Jai Chun Lee, chairman of the board of NKDB and former South Korean ambassador to Russia, delivered a lecture entitled “Shedding New Light on the South Korea-Russia Relations for Unification Diplomacy.”
Although Russia is geographically close to the Korean peninsula, with the Tumen River forming part of the border between Russia and the DPRK, relations between ROK and Russia are not as close as the geographical distance. Mr Lee spoke about unification and its relation to Russia which has historically maintained close relations with the Korean peninsula, as the Northern part of Russia was the place for the independence movement during the Japanese colonial period in Korea.
The ROK, a non-nuclear weapon state, is trying to achieve a ROK-led unification and as Russia wants a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, the ROK is in a position to negotiate this issue with Russia. With Russia's plans to extend their Trans-Eurasian rail project to Korea, South Korea can provide technology and resources which will not only benefit a unified Korea but also bring Korean culture and technology to Russia. Lastly, Russia's new East Asia policy, which was put forward from 2014, is aimed to develop 13 special economic zones and to boost cooperation with East Asian countries. Russia is currently planning the East Asia forum to improve relations with China, Japan and the ROK. Through this, the ROK could improve relations with Russia to achieve unification.
Next Monday (April 24), Oh Joon, the former South Korean Ambassador to the UN, will speak about “the UN and the unification and diplomacy”. We look forward to seeing you then.
On April 17, Jai Chun Lee, chairman of the board of NKDB and former South Korean ambassador to Russia, delivered a lecture entitled “Shedding New Light on the South Korea-Russia Relations for Unification Diplomacy.”
Although Russia is geographically close to the Korean peninsula, with the Tumen River forming part of the border between Russia and the DPRK, relations between ROK and Russia are not as close as the geographical distance. Mr Lee spoke about unification and its relation to Russia which has historically maintained close relations with the Korean peninsula, as the Northern part of Russia was the place for the independence movement during the Japanese colonial period in Korea.
The ROK, a non-nuclear weapon state, is trying to achieve a ROK-led unification and as Russia wants a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, the ROK is in a position to negotiate this issue with Russia. With Russia's plans to extend their Trans-Eurasian rail project to Korea, South Korea can provide technology and resources which will not only benefit a unified Korea but also bring Korean culture and technology to Russia. Lastly, Russia's new East Asia policy, which was put forward from 2014, is aimed to develop 13 special economic zones and to boost cooperation with East Asian countries. Russia is currently planning the East Asia forum to improve relations with China, Japan and the ROK. Through this, the ROK could improve relations with Russia to achieve unification.
Next Monday (April 24), Oh Joon, the former South Korean Ambassador to the UN, will speak about “the UN and the unification and diplomacy”. We look forward to seeing you then.