UNJournal Jon Lee | Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead on May 20 hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, the AP reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in the Shiite theocracy, quickly named a little-known vice president as caretaker and insisted the government was in control, but the deaths marked yet another blow to a country beset by pressures at home and abroad. Related to this, the government of the Republic of Korea expressed its deepest condolences and sympathy on May 20 to the bereaved families and the
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Jeju City Mayor Kang Byung-sam met with officials from Wakayama City, Japan, a sister city of Jeju Island, at his office on May 20 to discuss ways to promote friendship and cooperation between Jeju City and Wakayama City. The meeting was organized as Wakayama, which has a sister city relationship with Jeju, visited the 28th Jeju International Tourism Marathon held on May 19 at Gujwa Sports Complex. During the meeting, the mayor encouraged the Wakayama athletes for their excellent performance in the marathon and sought ways to expand exchanges between the two cities. “I
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo On May 14, 2024, within the framework of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of birth of the great Turkmen poet and thinker Magtymguly Fragi, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in the Republic of Korea held an international scientific conference and the exhibition in the Yongsan district Administration building of Seoul. During the conference, the speakers noted the consistent and fruitful development of cultural and humanitarian relations between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea. It was emphasized that the literary heritage of the classical poet Magtymguly Fragi,
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Oh Seung-rok, mayor of Nowon-gu, Seoul held a meeting with Ambassador of El Salvador to the Republic of Korea Jaime Lopez at cafe in Nowon-gu on May 9. El Salvador, which has a 100-year history of coffee, has natural conditions suitable for coffee cultivation, and in 1990, the coffee industry was fostered as a national key industry, and currently, about 12% of the entire country is composed of coffee farms. El Salvadoran coffee is characterized by its large beans, light weight, and a distinct blend of acidity and sweetness. Although the flavor varies from region to re
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo met with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming on May 7 at the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office to discuss ways to cooperate on mutual growth. This is the first visit by Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming to Gyeongbuk since his appointment in January 2020. Governor Lee and Ambassador Xing highlighted the 30 years of bilateral cooperation between China and Gyeongbuk, and agreed to expand new areas of shared growth beyond the economic sphere, such as cultural tourism. “In the 30 years of diplomatic relations between China and Gyeongbuk, the t
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has expressed his support for the upcoming negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which will take place in Almaty on May 1, 2024. The talks proposed by the Kazakh side and to be held at the Foreign Ministers' level aim to prepare a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The significance of Almaty as the meeting location cannot be understated. The historic Alma-Ata Declaration was signed in this city in December 1991, laying the foundation for the independent development of the Commonwealth of Independent States
UNJournal Jon Lee | President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Angolan President João Lourenço to exchange views on ways to promote practical cooperation between the two countries and the regional and international situation on April 30. The two leaders noted that friendly and cooperative ties have been steadily developing since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, and noted that recent high-level exchanges at all levels, including a phone call between the leaders last November, have further enhanced bilateral relations. President Yoon expressed his appreciation to Presi
UNJournal Jon Lee | Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Shin Won-sik held the 6th Korea-Australia Foreign Affairs and Defense (2+2) Ministerial Meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Melbourne, Australia on May 1. They exchanged in-depth views on the Korean Peninsula and regional affairs. Following the meeting, the ministers held a joint press conference and adopted a joint statement as the outcome document of the meeting. This was the first 2+2 ministerial meeting held since the inauguration of the cur
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on April 26 met with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who was in Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Embassy of Lithuania in Seoul, and discussed ways to promote bilateral relations. Minister Cho said that the opening of the Lithuanian Embassy will be an important step in the development of bilateral relations, and asked Minister Landsbergis to pay special attention to Korea's plans to open an embassy in Lithuania. Minister Landesbergis said that he was opening a permanent mission given the importance of relation
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Speaker Yeom Jong-hyun of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly met with a delegation from the People's Committee of Dak Lak Province in Vietnam at the Assembly's Grand Hall on April 25. Chairman Yeom actively proposed a cooperation plan by proposing to hold an 'investment attraction briefing session' to the delegation of the Dak Lak Province People's Committee, which hopes to strengthen economic exchanges between the two regions. The meeting was attended by Chairman Yeom, Representative Oh Jun-hwan of the People's Power Party, Parliamentary Secretary Kim Jong-seok, and Vi
UNJournal Jon Lee | President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit on April 23 with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, who is on an official visit to South Korea, and exchanged a wide range of views on ways to promote practical cooperation between the two countries, as well as regional and international developments. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the ROK-Romania Strategic Partnership last year, the two leaders recognized that the bilateral relationship is deepening in many aspects and adopted the Joint Statement on Strengthening the ROK-Romania Strategic Partner
UNJournal Jon Lee | In accordance with the decree No 59 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 7, 2022, "On measures to organize and hold the international folklore festival "Boysun Spring", the international folklore festival "Boysun Spring" is held once every two years in Boysun District, Surkhandarya Region. This festival, which is planned to be held on May 1-7 this year, includes a newly established 6-hectare area located in the "Bibishirin" neighborhood of Boysun district (a modern hotel with 110 seats, a center for 100 seats of artisans, a modern amphith
UNJournal Jon Lee | April 26 is the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. On this day, people all over the world recall Chernobyl, a sacrifice of those who without sparing their lives and health stopped the radiation disaster and prevented a larger disaster. As a result of explosions at Unit 4, the reactor was completely destroyed. The accident was accompanied by fires and releases of radioactive substances. The radioactive cloud passed over the USSR, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and affected more than 20 countries. The contamination of the territory of Belarus amounted to 23 per ce
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Hyundai Motor Group has signed an agreement for strategic cooperation with Toray Industries, Inc., a pioneer in carbon fiber and composite material technology, to advance material innovation for a new era of mobility. Toray Industries specializes in fibers and textiles, performance chemicals, carbon fiber composite materials, environmental engineering and life science. Toray Industries is renowned for being the global leader in carbon fiber, a material widely adopted in advanced industries such as automotive and aviation due to its light weight, high strength, and hea
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary General Wamkele Keabetswe Mene and discussed Korea-AfCFTA cooperation and the upcoming Korea-Africa Summit on April 23. Minister Cho welcomed Secretary General Mene to Korea for the second time since his visit in July last year and praised the AfCFTA's efforts to integrate Africa into a single market. Minister Cho also expressed that the Korean government, as well as Korean companies seeking to enter Africa, are very interested in the progress of the implementation of the Af