Presidential council to cooperate with U.S. think tank

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- A special advisory council to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will sign an agreement with a U.S. think tank on cooperation that will also lead to joint research projects, the presidential office said Thursday.

The agreement will be signed Friday by the visiting chief of the RAND
Corporation, James A. Thompson, and Kwak Seung-jun, head of the Presidential
Council on Future and Vision, it said.
"The agreement between the presidential council and the RAND Corporation is an
outcome of efforts by the council to expand the country's global network and help
bring in more global perspectives in setting up its national agendas," the
presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, said in a press release.
"It will also allow the country to use RAND's world-class research and analysis
capabilities when trying to foresee possible changes in the future and establish
appropriate measures," it added.
Established in 1948, the California-based RAND currently has some 1,600
employees, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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