S. Korea steps up bid to host global summit on environment

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan tried to
drum up support for his country's bid to host a global environmental summit in
2012 during a regional forum held in Kazakhstan this week, his ministry said
Friday.
During the 7th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) ministerial meeting, Yu asked for
active support from the other member states for South Korea's campaign to play
host to the next U.N. world environmental summit, the ministry added.
The annual ACD conference, held this year in Astana on Thursday, brought together
top diplomats from 30 Asian and Middle Eastern nations with the purpose of
promoting economic cooperation in the region.
"Minister Yu also explained about the North Korean nuclear issue and South-North
Korean relations," the ministry said in a press release.
South Korea declared its bid to host the U.N. World Summit on Sustainable
Development last month.
The summit is held every 10 years and is attended by top government environmental
officials, non-governmental organization (NGO) members and prominent
environmental groups and activists from around the world. The last conference was
held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002.