▲ Gangneung Mayor Kim Hong-kyu announces a plan to host next year's meeting of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly in a news conference in the east coast city on Oct. 23, 2023. (Yonhap)

Gangneung-UN meeting

Gangneung to host next year's meeting of U.N. General Assembly presidents

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's east coast city of Gangneung has been chosen to host next year's meeting of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly (UNCPGA), an annual gathering of past U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) presidents, Mayor Kim Hong-kyu said Monday.

"Gangneung has been confirmed as the host of next year's meeting of the UNCPGA at its recent meeting in Seoul," Kim said in a news conference.

The UNCPGA, a consultative and advisory body launched in 1997, is comprised of 29 people who have served as presidents of the UNGA. It supports U.N. activities and discusses international issues. Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo now serves as the UNCPGA chair.

The 2024 UNCPGA meeting will be held in Gangneung, 163 kilometers east of Seoul, for three days during October, drawing about 100 attendees, including 29 former UNGA presidents, the U.N. secretary-general and diplomats from many countries, the mayor said.

In addition, U.N. cyber security events will take place in Gangneung between September and October next year with the participation of about 230 people, including experts from 40 to 50 countries and white hackers, Kim said.

Specifically, an international cyber security symposium and an international hackathon will be held at Gangneung Olympic Park and other places, he said, adding discussions will be had on Gangneung continuing to host the hackathon until 2028.

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