Gyeonggi Province and North Korean Delegation: Will They Open the Door to 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process'?

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jang Kyung-hee] Attention is focused on whether Gyeonggi Province and the North Korean delegation, who met in Goyang City last November, can create an opportunity to open the door to the 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process' through the '2019 Asia-Pacific International Conference for Peace and Prosperity'.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 23rd that it will jointly host the '2019 Asia-Pacific International Conference for Peace and Prosperity' with the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association for four days from the 25th to the 27th in Manila, Philippines.

Through this Manila conference, both sides will re-meet after 8 months following the Goyang conference last November, when the first-ever visit by a North Korean delegation to a local self-governing body in the history of Korean peninsula division was realized.

The international conference will be attended by about 300 people including Gyeonggi Province and North Korean delegation, as well as experts related to forced conscription by Japan from 10 countries including the Philippines, Japan, China, Australia, and Thailand, to discuss the clarification of the truth about Japanese forced mobilization and methods for healing the damage of sexual slavery victims.

The North Korean delegation is known to be composed of a total of 6 members, led by Vice Chairman Ri Jong-hyok, who visited Gyeonggi Province to participate in the Goyang conference last November.

Gyeonggi Province plans to dispatch a delegation of about 30 members to the Philippines, which includes prominent figures such as former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jeong Dong-chae, former Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, former Minister of Gender Equality and Family Jeong Hyun-baek, and National Assemblyman Kim Han-jung.

The Province is planning to use this opportunity to open the door to the 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process' by expanding inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects, as a 'warm breeze' is blowing over the frozen inter-Korean relations following the 'South-North-US leaders' Panmunjom summit' that was realized last month on the 30th.

Previously, the Province continued to pursue inter-Korean humanitarian support projects and hosted the 'Asia International Volleyball Championship for Korean Peninsula Peace' even in February when inter-Korean relations reached a stalemate due to the failure of the 'North Korea-US summit', making diverse efforts to establish the 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process'.

Lee Hwa-young, Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province for Peace, said, "Through this conference, we will further expand the peace exchange channel with North Korea and promote various projects to create a Korean peninsula peace atmosphere."