Address by President Moon Jae-in at the 3rd Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok,  Russia

President Putin, thank you for inviting me to the Eastern Economic Forum. I am very pleased to attend this important event in its third year. Prime Minister Abe, I am glad to meet you here again so soon after the G20 Summit in July. President Battulga, I am particularly glad to meet you because you took office as recently as I did. Congratulations on your inauguration. Delegations from countries around the world, business leaders and distinguished guests, I am pleased to meet you all.

This is my first visit to Vladivostok, the largest port city in the Russian Far East. I feel as if I am right at home. The beautiful scenery of the sea harmonized with the houses on the hills overlooking the port reminds me of my hometown of Busan in Korea. There are many Russian ships loaded with fish coming to Gamcheon Harbor in Busan. Signboards in Russian are commonplace on the streets in front of Busan Station. Russian bread “hleb” and Russian yogurt “kefir” can be eaten there, too.

The Empress of Russia Catherine II already saw the potential of far-eastern Siberia and foresaw that a star would rise in the East where light first appears. Even though the times have changed, the Russian Far East is still an attractive land full of potential.

Today, this region is regarded as a land of hope that can promote cooperation and common prosperity for not only Russia but also among all the countries in Northeast Asia, including Korea. This hope is now being turned into reality under the leadership of President Putin. The Republic of Korea is also poised to step up cooperation with Russia and the Northeast Asian countries in line with the slogan of the Eastern Economic Forum “The Russian Far East: Creating a New Reality.”

President Putin, distinguished guests,

There has already been longstanding cooperation between Russians and Koreans here in the Russian Far East. This territory was first worked by Russian forefathers, and our Korean ancestors migrated to this area and lived together with them. This frozen land has been turned into a land of warmth with the sweat of both Russians and Koreans.

On my trip here, I witnessed dense forests and wide fields. I recalled that tigers once roamed from Siberia to Baekdu Mountain on the Korean Peninsula. Traditionally, Koreans have cared for tigers very much regarding them as mystical creatures. People say that President Putin’s energy resembles that of Siberian tigers. My name Jae-in has a Chinese character meaning tiger. We both have the courage and energy of tigers in common. With this in mind, nothing will be impossible when we embark on developing the Russian Far East. Russia and Korea have an affinity symbolized by Siberian tigers and also are related to each other through ways of life found in every corner of this region.

The Korean people love Russian novelist Anton Chekhov, who wrote literary works set in the Russian Far East and Sakhalin, as well as celebrated Russian writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy. This region is an important setting for Korean literature. Modern Korean novelist Yi Kwang-su wrote his work Yujeong set against the backdrop of Siberia and Lake Baikal. Korean-Russian writer Cho Myeong-hui wrote a novel based on his life here in the Russian Maritime Province. A literary monument to him is now standing in front of the Education and Science Museum of the Far Eastern Federal University. Even with these few historical facts, I can sense how long and deep our bilateral relations are.

We have common memories and experiences in living in the Russian Far East helping each other. Those memories will empower us to continue working together. Those experiences will serve as the foundation from which to make greater progress.

President Putin,

Back in Korea, I attended a performance of the Bolshoi Ballet. I also want to enjoy the world’s best Russian ballet performance on Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. The Mariinsky Theatre here in the Russian Far East is enough evidence to make me truly understand the resolute determination of President Putin to carry out the New East Policy.

I, too, have a firm determination about economic cooperation with northern areas, including the Russian Far East. During my term in office, I intend to forge a very close relationship with Russia. That is the vision of Korea’s New Northern Policy.

The New Northern Policy set its sights on the goal of President Putin’s New East Policy that is aimed at developing the Russian Far East. The point where the New Northern Policy and the New East Policy meet is the Russian Far East. Korea is the optimal partner in the development of the Russian Far East being pushed by the Russian Government. Korea’s New Northern Policy is also predicated on cooperation with Russia.

For these reasons, Korea will more actively participate in developing the Russian Far East. The overriding goal will be to focus more on cooperation with Russia to carry out various projects, the progress of which has thus far been impeded by difficulties in inter-Korean relations.

Shipbuilding and shipping cooperation is a new model for bilateral economic collaboration, which could change the landscape of international maritime transportation. The development of the Northern Sea Route is truly a heart-throbbing feat. If the development of Zarubino Port is pursued in cooperation with Korea's shipbuilding industry, the Northern Sea Route would serve as a new Silk Road in ushering in a new energy era. Korea is the world's top shipbuilding powerhouse. As evidenced by the fact that about 63 percent of mega-size LNG carriers, which were contracted to be built over the past six years, is being manufactured in Korea, our country has unmatched technological prowess.

Korea won an order to build 15 ice-breaking LNG tankers from Russia, and one of them has already been completed and delivered. This is the world's first ice-breaking LNG carrier. At the christening ceremony for this carrier held last June, President Putin said that it would help open up wide possibilities for the Northern Sea Route and would make significant contributions to progress in the energy industry around the world, including Europe. This is a truly meaningful remark that shed light on the path the global shipping industry has to take. Last month, this carrier left a port in Norway and made a successful voyage to the Port of Boryeong in Chungcheongnam-do Province in Korea via the Northern Sea Route without the help of an icebreaker. The distance, time and costs were reduced by as much as a third compared to the voyage taking the Southern Sea Route that passes through the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean. As such, cooperation between Russia and Korea has already shown significant changes. 

Russia has also placed an order to Korea for a mega-size oil tanker using LNG as fuel, which is a historic milestone in making the global shipping industry eco-friendly. Thanks to the ice-breaking LNG carrier and the LNG-fueled oil tanker, more countries in the world will import LNG from Russia, significantly increasing the use of Russian gas. Furthermore, Korean shipbuilders are participating in a project to modernize the Zvezda shipyard by setting up a joint venture with their Russian counterparts.

In this way, Russo-Korean shipbuilding and energy cooperation has already begun, bringing new changes to the world. If inter-Korean relations thawed in the future, Russia's gas pipelines would run through North Korea all the way to South Korea.

President Putin and distinguished guests,

As I promised, the Presidential Committee for Northern Economic Cooperation has been launched. This is the first time for Korea to establish a body taking full charge of northern economic cooperation. As a counterpart to the Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East, our country has established a state system dedicated to cooperation in Russian Far East development.

The Presidential Committee for Northern Economic Cooperation will work closely together with related organizations in Russia and other Northeast Asian countries to map out ways to achieve substantive cooperation centering on the development of the Russian Far East region.

President Putin and I also came to an agreement to hold a forum dealing with cooperation between local governments of the two countries starting next year. This kind of forum will help further promote substantive cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between both countries' local governments as well as between small and medium-sized business owners in local areas.  

More than anything else, however, Korea hopes for an early start of procedures for an FTA between Korea and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union as part of efforts to lay an institutional framework for more solid and lasting northern cooperation. On top of this, Korea also hopes to strengthen multilateral cooperation, including through the Greater Tumen Initiative.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

The Russian Far East is geographically the starting and ending point of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It serves as a passage connecting Eurasia and Northeast Asia with the Asia-Pacific. The region is rich in natural resources such as oil, natural gas and iron ore, and there is an enormous demand for the development of infrastructure, including an airport, railway and port. Thanks to President Putin's enhanced efforts to improve the investment environment, conditions for business activities in Russia are rapidly getting better.

I propose that Russia and Korea lay nine bridges for the simultaneous pursuit of multiple cooperative projects. The nine bridges are shipbuilding, port construction, the Northern Sea Route development, gas exploration, railway construction, power generation, job creation, farming industry and fishing industry. I think our two countries can work together in so many areas. 

Korea is the world's second largest importer of gas. Going beyond simply importing gas from Russia, Korea hopes for energy development cooperation with the country.

The Trans-Siberian Railway has a historical bearing for Koreans. In 1907, King Gojong's special emissary Lee Jun got on this train to attend the International Peace Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands. Marathon gold medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Sohn Kee-chung also used this train to reach Berlin. If Korea's railway is linked to the Trans-Siberian Railway, it could serve as a route connecting the Eurasian continent with the Pacific.

Cooperation on power generation can help solve the global issue of energy transition. I hope that Russia can take the lead in this matter. If Russia’s Energy Super Ring Initiative is combined with the utilization of wind power in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and solar photovoltaic power as part of a gigantic supergrid, Northeast Asia can form the world’s biggest energy community. Moreover, this can become the foundation that can develop into a Northeast Asian economic community just like the European Union and a multilateral security framework. I believe that cooperation on power generation can bring economic prosperity to Northeast Asia and, with it, peace.

I would like to propose that all the leaders in Northeast Asia start consultations to establish an energy supergrid in the region with the great vision of the prospective Northeast Asian economic community and a multilateral security framework. 

Building a new industrial park will solve the issue of job creation. Korea’s agricultural technology is no less than that of any other country in the world. Now many farming companies are operating in the Russian Maritime Province, providing the Russian farming industry with technological support and transferring related technology. Cooperation in the fishing industry through the formation of a fishery logistics and processing complex will help solve the future food supply issue.

These nine bridges will pave the way to a bright future.

President Putin,

Despite a difficult geopolitical environment, Korean companies have made steady progress in their investment in Russia. Some products, such as automobiles and electronics, have grown into national brands in Russia. The Rio compact car that ranks first in terms of sales in Russia is the fruit of Hyundai Motor’s investment to build a factory in St. Petersburg seven years ago. It is also the result of cooperation with Russian automotive component makers.

Korean companies’ capital and technology can contribute to the construction of large industrial facilities and infrastructure in the Russian Far East. To support such large infrastructure projects, the Korean Government intends to provide necessary assistance in cooperation with the Russian Government, such as the possibility of increasing financing for investors.

A Russian proverb says, “If you go silently, you can go far.” Pursuing large projects is important but, when viable short-term cooperative projects lead to many examples of success, deep trust will be built between companies in both countries.

Korean companies are interested not only in farming or logistics industries but also in transportation businesses utilizing information and communications technology, eco-friendly businesses using waste materials and the development of hotels and resorts. Experienced and competitive small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea are also preparing to do business in the Russian Far East.

People-to-people exchanges and technological cooperation are also being promoted in healthcare, medical services and education. As indicated in the theme of this Eastern Economic Forum, we will create a new reality for the East in the Russian Far East. I want to give the Russian Far East a new epithet as a dynamic platform for cooperation that will play a leading role in the era of the Pacific Rim.

President Putin, distinguished guests,

A few days ago, North Korea made yet another provocation by conducting its sixth nuclear test. This is an act that threatens not only peace on the Korean Peninsula but also in Northeast Asia. From the perspective of Russia and for the development of the Russian Far East, it is a problem that must be resolved. I thank Russia for actively taking part in imposing international sanctions designed to prevent North Korea’s provocations and ask for its continued support.

In addition, I believe that succeeding in the development of the Russian Far East through cooperation among Northeast Asian countries is one of the fundamental accomplishments that can help solve the North Korean issue. If North Korea witnesses Northeast Asian countries succeeding in economic cooperation in the Russian Far East, it will also realize that participating in it would be beneficial. Moreover, the North will also understand that it is the way to prosper peacefully without nuclear development.

In that respect, even though the ambitious projects that have been discussed for trilateral cooperation among the two Koreas and Russia cannot be materialized under the current circumstances, the projects on which Korea and Russia can unite their strengths and cooperate should be initiated immediately.

Of course, it would be better if the North participates from the beginning. I really hope that the North will be able to take part in those projects by giving up its nuclear program at the earliest date possible and returning to the international community.

This coming February, the Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang, Korea. I hope that the people of Russia, the traditional winter sports powerhouse that hosted the previous Sochi Winter Olympics, will visit Korea in larger numbers.

I am aware that President Putin usually enjoys skiing and playing ice hockey. If he visits Pyeongchang, the yearly Korea-Russia summit will be restored naturally. It will be a valuable opportunity for the countries that will have hosted the Winter Olympics one after the other to jointly send a message of peace and hope to the world.

Thank you very much.