Amid the current mood of peace and cooperation between the two Koreas, an annual forum is taking place on South Korea's southernmost island of Jeju... during which participants are discussing how to achieve peace and prosperity across Asia.
And we have our Oh Soo-young over at the scene to give us more details on her smartphone.
So Soo-young, this forum -- dubbed the Davos of Korea -- has seen quite a sizeable turnout this year, hasn't it?
It has indeed, Jiyoon. Hundreds, including world-renowned opinion leaders,
diplomats, and government officials have gathered for the opening ceremony on Wednesday,...
although the sessions themselves began the day before, under the theme "Reengineering Peace for Asia." About 5,000 people from 80 countries are expected to participate.
The forum has come a very timely moment, following the two inter-Korean summits and the subsequent North Korea-U.S. summit that produced a four-point joint statement between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump on denuclearization and improving bilateral ties.
So much of the discussions during this three-day forum are dedicated to the question of maintaining the current momentum towards peace on the Korean Peninsula and turning that into a permanent peace.
That includes the prospect of formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War that was concluded with an armistice agreement,... and potentially striking up a peace treaty between the two sides.
Cooperation between the two Koreas and the United States,... as well as regional countries with vested interests such as China, Japan and Russia,... is also a key issue under discussion.
It is quite meaningful holding the talks on Jeju Island -- a location that symbolizes peace.
That's right. In fact, leaders from both the South and North have, in the past, used the expression "from Mount Halla situated on this island to North Korea's northernmost Mount Baekdu," when discussing the issue of peace, cooperation and even unity of the two Koreas. In fact, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a tree planting ceremony on the day of their first summit, with soil taken from both mountains.
The Jeju Forum itself was first launched in 2001 to mark the one-year anniversary of the first-ever inter-Korean summit, held between then-leaders Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il.
Former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, in fact, participated in the forum himself in 2007, before his own summit with Kim Jong-il.
So there's quite a lot of significance -- it's arguably the best place to discuss the ways to establish permanent peace beyond the Korean Peninsula and across the wider Asia Pacific region.
We'll keep you up to date with the major discussions that come up.
Back to you Ji-yoon.
