Delegates share a vision of a free, prosperous unified Korea as a catalyst for peace and development in Northeast Asia

Lawmakers, policymakers, academics and youth leaders from six countries gathered in Mongolia to discuss strategies for peace in Northeast Asia and the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.

Delegates from South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, Mongolia and India shared the view that a new, free and prosperous unified Korea could serve as a catalyst for regional peace and development.

They also called for stronger measures to reduce nuclear risks and expand a civil society-led movement supporting Korean unification.

The six-day Mongolia Forum and Workshop on Northeast Asian Peaceful Development and Korean Unification began Friday and concluded Wednesday in Ulaanbaatar.

The Global Peace Foundation, the Mongolian nongovernmental organization Blue Banner and Action for Korea United jointly organized the annual gathering.

The main conference was held at the Mongolian Foreign Ministry and addressed international cooperation for Korean unification, climate change, environmental protection and the development of young leaders.

Participants included Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikhan, chairman of Blue Banner and a former Mongolian ambassador to the United Nations; Yeqing Li, a senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation; In-Teck Seo, co-chairman of Action for Korea United and South Korean Rep. Cho Kyung-tae.

Other participants included Jargalsaikhan Zoljargal, a member of Mongolia's State Great Khural; former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon; Henry Huiyao Wang, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization; Komei Isozaki, a nonresident senior fellow at Hudson Institute and Rumit Walia, an Indian environmental advocate and youth leadership mentor.

The forum covered four main subjects: Korean unification as a catalyst for Northeast Asian peace and development, reducing nuclear risks in the region, Mongolia's green economy as a new path toward regional integration and forest conservation for peace and future generations.

Before the formal conference, participants spent several days together in traditional Mongolian dwellings known as gers.

Organizers said the private and informal discussions allowed participants to build personal relationships and trust before beginning formal policy talks.

Unified Korea presented as regional catalyst

Participants focused on strategies and policies to advance what organizers described as a new, free and prosperous unified Korea.

They said South and North Korea as well as other major regional powers should cooperate to create conditions favorable to unification.

They also proposed broader international cooperation to manage crises, maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula and build support for a long-term vision of unification.

Several participants called on South Korea to reduce nuclear risks and rebuild confidence by pursuing political and military talks with North Korea and seeking the resumption of economic exchanges.

Others urged the United States and Japan to support peacebuilding through dialogue with Pyongyang, including efforts toward the eventual normalization of U.S.-North Korean and Japan-North Korean relations.

Enkhsaikhan recommended that South Korea pursue political and military dialogue as well as economic exchanges with North Korea as part of a broader effort to reduce nuclear dangers and build trust.

Cho called on Mongolia to play an active bridging role in efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, citing the country's experience establishing and maintaining its nuclear-weapon-free status.

He said peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula should not be considered an issue for South Korea alone because their consequences would affect the stability and prosperity of Northeast Asia as a whole.

Cho also said he would support bipartisan cooperation in South Korea's National Assembly to help establish the foundations for eventual unification.

Seo presented the Korean Dream, a vision of peaceful unification centered on freedom, human rights, shared prosperity and Korea's traditional founding ideal of Hongik Ingan, meaning to broadly benefit humanity.

He said Action for Korea United is developing the Korea Link campaign as one practical initiative to share the vision of a free and prosperous unified Korea with North Korean residents.

The privately led project is exploring information delivery systems that could overcome the severe restrictions imposed on outside information in North Korea.

Seo said the organization is examining ways that low-Earth-orbit satellite networks such as Starlink could eventually be used to help reach North Korean residents.

The proposal is based on the belief that breaking down information barriers and giving North Koreans access to truthful outside information could become a powerful catalyst for peaceful change and unification.

American journalist Patrick Hickey and Ganbat Gonchigsuren, founder of Mongolia's Green & New Street movement, also emphasized the importance of building an international civil society movement for Korean unification.

They said international solidarity would be important but that the commitment and participation of the Korean people themselves would ultimately determine whether unification could be achieved.

Kyung-Young Chung, co-chairman of the International Cooperation Working Group for a Unified Korea and a former professor at Hanyang University's Graduate School of International Studies, proposed a "grand bargain" among leaders in Seoul, Pyongyang, Washington and Beijing.

Chung proposed pursuing peaceful settlements involving the two Koreas and relations between China and Taiwan.

The proposal represented Chung's individual recommendation and was not presented as a formal position adopted by the forum.

Young leaders call for peaceful unification

Youth representatives said South Korean nongovernmental organizations supporting unification should form closer partnerships with young people in other countries.

They called for an international youth network capable of increasing civic participation and building greater support for peaceful Korean unification.

The youth leaders agreed that unification must take place peacefully and should be accompanied by the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Participants also said efforts to promote peace and mutual understanding could not succeed while threats to peace persisted and nuclear risks continued to spread.

They said nuclear-armed states bear primary responsibility for reducing and ultimately eliminating their nuclear arsenals.

Any use of nuclear weapons, whether deliberate or accidental, would have catastrophic consequences for countries far beyond those directly involved, participants said.

The delegates called for stronger international measures to reduce the possibility of nuclear conflict.

Mongolia viewed as diplomatic platform

The forum concluded that lasting peace and shared prosperity in Northeast Asia would require dialogue, mutual understanding, cooperation and effective action based on a bold long-term vision.

Participants highlighted Mongolia's potential role as an independent diplomatic platform for inter-Korean reconciliation and regional cooperation.

Mongolia peacefully transitioned from communist rule to a democratic political system while maintaining friendly relations with both South and North Korea.

Participants said the country's proactive diplomacy and negotiating experience give it a distinctive ability to bring together countries and organizations that might otherwise struggle to engage directly.

They also said cooperation on environmental challenges, including desertification, green economic development and forest conservation, could help build relationships that support wider diplomatic and security discussions.

"Lasting peace and shared prosperity are possible only through a courageous vision and effective action grounded in dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation," Chung said.

"This is the mutually beneficial path that can fully unlock the potential of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia."

By Korean Dream Times and translated by UPI

Published Date:2026-06-25