Key facts
- The Jeju Forum for Peace & Prosperity is seeking to invite a North Korean education expert from UNESCO to participate virtually.
- Dr. Chang Gwang-chol, chief of education policy at UNESCO, is the individual organizers wish to invite.
- The unification ministry has approved the request to contact Dr. Chang Gwang-chol.
- If he attends, Dr. Chang would be the first North Korean national to participate in the forum.
Organizers of the Jeju Forum for Peace & Prosperity are seeking to invite Dr. Chang Gwang-chol, chief of education policy at UNESCO, to participate virtually in the annual security forum. The forum is scheduled to take place from June 24-26.
The unification ministry confirmed that it has granted approval for the forum's organizers to contact Dr. Chang, who previously worked at North Korea's education ministry before joining the U.N. agency. He has held various education policy posts at UNESCO's regional offices and its Paris headquarters.
If Dr. Chang accepts the invitation, he would mark the first time a North Korean national has participated in the forum. This potential participation comes amid other inter-Korean exchanges, such as a North Korean football club's recent matches in South Korea.
The Jeju Forum, launched in 2001, aims to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the wider region through international cooperation on stability and security.