S. Korea to host U.N. development forum next week

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will host a U.N. high-level symposium on international development cooperation next week to discuss global development issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The high-level symposium of the 2015 U.N. Development Cooperation Forum, slated for April 8-10 in Songdo, west of Seoul, will bring together about 220 high-level figures from governments as well as the civic and academic sectors in 50 foreign nations, ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il said in a briefing. Chiefs of the U.N.'s economic and social council as well as Industrial Development Organization and Environment Programme will also be among the attendees, Noh added. The symposium will focus on ways to achieve new development goals to be set by the U.N. as the Post-2015 development agenda in September, the spokesman said, referring to a new set of development targets to be pursued after 2015. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will hold separate meetings with the U.N. body chiefs to discuss global issues like poverty eradication as well as Seoul's contributions to such issues, the spokesman noted. pbr@yna.co.kr (END)