FM Cho to attend U.N. General Assembly in New York next week

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will fly to New York next week to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly, where he is expected to discuss key international issues and highlight South Korea's efforts toward sustainable peace, his office said Thursday.

During the six-day visit starting Monday, Cho will deliver a keynote speech at the general debate of the high-level gathering to reaffirm South Korea's commitment to ensuring global peace and prosperity, foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a press briefing.

Cho will also attend the general debate session of the U.N. Security Council and the ministerial conference of the U.N. peacebuilding committee.

Cho will also attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 member states and a separate gathering of MIKTA members, consisting of Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia, to discuss cooperation among middle-power nations.

Cho will be present at the Minerals Security Partnership meeting to give a speech highlighting the need for stronger cooperation in the supply of critical minerals, such as lithium and nickel.

Cho also plans to use the U.N. sessions to seek the international community's support for the new unification vision unveiled by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month, Lee said.

The new doctrine calls for expanding North Koreans' access to outside information and proposes opening an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss any issues.

Arrangements are being made for Cho's bilateral talks with his counterparts of other countries on the sidelines of the U.N. sessions, Lee added, without giving further details.

elly@yna.co.kr
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