▲ Seong Ghi-hong, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency speaks in an opening speech at a forum co-hosted by Yonhap and the Ministry of Unification at Lotte Hotel on June 29, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ This photo, captured from a video provided by the White House, shows National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell speaking in a prerecorded speech for a peace forum hosted by Yonhap News Agency and Seoul's unification ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ Foreign Minister Park Jin delivers a keynote speech at a forum co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency and Seoul's unification ministry at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on June 29, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ This photo, taken on June 29, 2023, shows panelists speaking in the first session of a forum, co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency and South Korea's unification ministry, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) Yonhap News-peace forum

(2nd LD) Yonhap forum sheds lights on decadeslong S. Korea-U.S. alliance amid security challenges

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details, photos throughout)

By Kim Soo-yeon

SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- Top government officials and experts gathered at a forum in Seoul on Thursday to explore ways to cope with security challenges on the Korean Peninsula, as South Korea and the United States mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance this year.

The symposium, co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency and Seoul's unification ministry, was held at Lotte Hotel under the main theme of "70 Years of the ROK-U.S. Alliance: the Present and Future of the Korean Peninsula." ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's formal name.

The forum, now in its ninth year, came amid a complex security environment, highlighted by North Korea's push to expand its nuclear arsenal, the intensified rivalry between Washington and Beijing, and Russia's protracted war with Ukraine.

Seoul and Washington signed their mutual defense treaty, a bedrock alliance document, in October 1953, after the Korean War ended in a truce three months earlier. The alliance has served as a linchpin for promoting peace and security in the region.

In his message to the forum, President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to create bigger opportunities for future generations by further supporting the South Korea-U.S. alliance, which he said has developed into a global comprehensive strategic alliance.

"In that regard, we must teach our future generations the value and meaning of the South Korea-U.S. alliance so that they are properly aware," Yoon said in the message read by Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, noting the important role of both the government and the press.

In a special session, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg highlighted the strengthening of the alliance, stressing that the decadeslong values-based alliance is "truly a force for good around the world."

The forum also came as South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have been bolstering their trilateral cooperation in the face of North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

After firing a record number of ballistic missiles last year, the North has intensified weapons tests this year as well, including the launch of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

In a video message, Kurt Campbell, U.S. National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, said U.S. President Joe Biden has invited President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Washington for a trilateral summit this summer.

"(In the envisioned summit), we will celebrate the remarkable progress that's been made in the bilateral relationship between Japan and South Korea, and to see what steps we can take to make sure we lock that progress in and to see what's possible to trilateralize areas of cooperation going forward," he added.

In a keynote speech, Foreign Minister Park Jin voiced expectations that the upcoming summit among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo will serve as further momentum for bolstering trilateral cooperation.

"Seoul and Washington will preserve genuine peace and peace through power, based on their alliance," Park said.

In the first comprehensive session of the forum, titled "The reshaping of international order and South Korea's Indo-Pacific Strategy," panelists discussed President Yoon's strategy and explored ways to preserve peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

In the second session, participants explored ways to improve inter-Korean relations amid a protracted stalemate in denuclearization talks. Last year, Yoon proposed to the North an "audacious initiative" aimed at supporting its economic development in return for its commitment to denuclearization.

Seong Ghi-hong, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, said the symposium will serve as a "productive" venue of discussions to shed light on the present and future of the alliance.

"As South Korea's key newswire, Yonhap News Agency will support the ROK's endeavor to become a 'global pivotal state' contributing to freedom, peace and prosperity," he said.

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