Suwon Mayor Yom Tae-young: "Hoping for a new era of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation led by local governments of both Koreas"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon Mayor Yom Tae-young said, "I hope a new era will begin in which exchange and cooperation activities between the local governments of North and South Korea are carried out."

Yom Tae-young, standing chair of the National Council for Inter-Korean Local Government Exchange and Cooperation, made opening remarks at the 'Implementing Inter-Korean Agreements Anew Discussion Forum' held on the 21st at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry International Conference Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. He stated, "Local governments launched the Council for Inter-Korean Local Government Exchange and Cooperation in March to continue inter-Korean civil cooperation," and added, "The launch of the council is the fruit of efforts to build a bridge of trust between North and South Korea through multilayered exchanges between local governments."

He continued, "Many local governments desire inter-Korean exchange, and we have past experience of exchanges in sectors such as health, sports, culture, and agriculture. We will open the channels for civil cooperation through city-to-city exchanges between North and South Korea."

The forum, jointly hosted by the National Council for Inter-Korean Local Government Exchange and Cooperation and the Inter-Korean Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation, proceeded with opening remarks by Mayor Yom Tae-young, congratulatory remarks by Minister of Unification Lee In-young, keynote speech by Inter-Korean Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation Chairman Im Jong-seok, and topic presentations by Seoul National University Professor Lee Jung-chul (Inter-Korean Agreements and Inter-Korean Cooperation) and National Institute for Unification Education Professor Park Gye-ri (Nationwide Touring Inter-Korean Art Exhibition).

Mayor Yom Tae-young announced plans for hosting an 'Inter-Korean Art and Photography Exhibition' to implement inter-Korean agreements, proposing, "I hope the exhibition will be jointly hosted in Pyongyang soon."

The art and photography exhibition jointly hosted by the National Council for Inter-Korean Local Government Exchange and Cooperation and the Inter-Korean Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation will be held at Suwon Municipal Aipark Museum of Art from the 29th to the 18th of next month. It will tour various cities nationwide, beginning with Suwon.

Visitors will be able to see photographs from inter-Korean summit talks, gifts received by the South Korean president, and various documents related to the summit talks.

At the forum, Inter-Korean Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation Chairman Im Jong-seok said, "Now we are beginning the exhibition among ourselves, but we hope the North will join soon," and proposed to the North, "Before the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year, let us jointly host exhibition events in New York, Berlin, and Beijing."

The National Council for Inter-Korean Local Government Exchange and Cooperation held its inaugural general meeting in March and was launched. It is a policy coordination body that discovers inter-Korean exchange policy tasks and supports the promotion of city-to-city exchanges between North and South Korea.