World leaders, experts to seek paths to peace, co-prosperity in East Asia

By Lee Chi-dong
JEJU ISLAND, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- The largest international security conference
hosted by South Korea was to open here later Wednesday for discussions on the
North Korean nuclear issue and paths to attain co-prosperity in East Asia.

The 5th Jeju Peace Forum brings together dozens of world leaders, former and
incumbent diplomats, scholars, and journalists under the theme of "Shaping New
Regional Governance in East Asia: A Common Vision for Mutual Benefits and Common
Prosperity."
They include U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, South Korean Prime Minister Han
Seung-soo, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and former Australian Prime Minister
John Howard, according to the Jeju Peace Institute, which organizes the event.
"Participants will have discussions on ways to achieve mutual benefit and common
prosperity in East Asia in various sessions on security, economy and history,"
said Chin Haeng-nam, senior researcher at the institute.
He said this year's session is expected to serve as a stepping-stone for South
Korea's efforts to develop the Jeju Peace Forum into an international-level
conference comparable with the Davos Forum held each year in the Swiss ski
resort town.
The Jeju Peace Forum was launched in 2001 to seek ways to bolster regional
cooperation for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast
Asia, and it has been held on this southern resort island biennially.
"This year, the scope of discussions will be broadened to East Asia and not
confined to Northeast Asia," said Chin, who serves as spokesman for the event.
"There will be more discussions on economy and history."
The expansion is partly attributable to President Lee Myung-bak's so-called "New
Asia Policy," which is aimed at bolstering ties with Asian neighbors, mainly in
Southeast Asia, amid the recent global financial crisis.
Chin said his institute is considering holding the conference annually starting
in 2011 and changing its name to the "Jeju Forum."
At the opening of the 5th Jeju Peace Forum, meanwhile, the South Korean prime
minister was scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the opening of the event.
The U.N. chief will give a speech at a session on Thursday, the last day of the
forum.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens, Chinese Ambassador Cheong
Younghwa, Russian Ambassador Gleb Ivashentsov, EU Ambassador Brian McDonald and
South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo will have a roundtable meeting
on ways to promote a multilateral security mechanism in East Asia.
The other foreign participants include Donald Gregg, former U.S. ambassador to
South Korea and currently head of the Korea Society in New York, Charles
Morrison, chief of the East-West Center in Hawaii, Wang Yingfan, former Chinese
vice foreign minister, William H. Overholt, senior research fellow at the
Harvard Kennedy School, Sakutaro Tanino, former Japanese ambassador to China and
Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute for security and
sustainable development.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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