Advisers for Seoul’s nuclear summit

The government has formed an adviser group comprised of veteran diplomatic figures at home and abroad for the Nuclear Security Summit next March, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday.

An “Eminent Persons Group” for the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit will provide President Lee Myung-bak with advice on the agenda of the March 26-27 summit and also devise policy proposals if necessary, the ministry said.

The group will also help raise awareness of the summit around the world, it said.

The 15-member group includes: Hans Blix, former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Henry Kissinger, former U.S. secretary of state; William Perry, former U.S. secretary of defense; Goh Chok Tong, former Singaporean prime minister; A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India; Li Zhaoxing, former Chinese foreign minister; Shinichi Kitaoka, Japan’s former deputy ambassador to the United Nations; Hubert Vedrine, former French foreign minister; Igor Ivanov, former Russian foreign minister; and Gareth Evans, former Australian foreign minister.

Korean members of the advisory group include former Foreign Minister Han Seung-joo; Oh Myung, former science minister; and Kang Chang-soon, head of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

A first meeting of the group will be held Nov. 29 in Seoul, the ministry said.

“The meeting on Nov. 29 will present an opportunity to gather together the wisdom of the sages,” said an official of the ministry.

“It will contribute to building support at home and abroad for the Seoul summit next year and contribute to its success,” he said.

The Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, the second of its kind after being initiated by U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington in April 2010, will be attended by the leaders of more than 50 countries and international organizations.

By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr]