Unification Minister Chung Dong-young will deliver a special speech at the 11th ‘Ulaanbaatar Northeast Asia Security Dialogue’ to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on the 4th.

The Ministry of Unification announced on the 3rd that Minister Chung will visit Mongolia on a three-night, four-day schedule from that day until the 6th. This marks the first time a Minister of Unification has visited Mongolia and attended the ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue.’

The ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue’ is a multilateral security dialogue in Northeast Asia hosted by the Mongolian government since 2014. It is a regular international conference that comprehensively addresses traditional and non-traditional security issues in Northeast Asia, including security, energy, and the environment. It is a 1.5-track dialogue involving government officials, academics, and representatives from international organizations within the region.

Minister Chung is scheduled to deliver a ‘special speech’ at the opening ceremony on the first day of the conference. A source from the Ministry of Unification stated, “The Mongolian government has requested participation multiple times since the beginning of the year,” adding, “During his two-day stay in Mongolia, Minister Chung Dong-young plans to hold meetings with key Mongolian government and parliamentary officials to garner support and empathy for the Korean Peninsula peace and coexistence policy and to discuss various cooperation measures with Mongolia in this regard.”

Approximately 250 participants from 25 countries have confirmed their attendance at this ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue.’ Whether North Korea will attend remains unknown. Mongolia is a country that has established diplomatic relations with both South and North Korea. Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1948, Mongolia and North Korea have maintained a friendly cooperative relationship as socialist states. Kim Il-sung visited Mongolia in 1956 and 1988, and Mongolian party secretaries visited North Korea in 1958 and 1986. High-level personnel exchanges between the two countries have continued, including a visit to North Korea by Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj in 2013 and a visit to Mongolia by a North Korean foreign ministry delegation in March 2024.

Due to the friendly relationship between Mongolia and North Korea, there are discussions about Mongolia mediating inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea dialogues through this ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue.’ This is because past U.S.-North Korea and Japan-North Korea contacts have been facilitated in Mongolia through the ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue.’

If North Korea attends, there is interest in whether behind-the-scenes contacts between the two Koreas and between the U.S. and North Korea could occur through the ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue.’ North Korea participated in the ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue’ from 2014 to 2018 but has not attended since 2019. In 2017, Ri Yong-pil, Deputy Director of the American Studies Research Institute at the Foreign Ministry, attended, and in 2018, Kim Yong-guk, Director of the Disarmament and Peace Research Institute at the Foreign Ministry, participated.

A source from the Ministry of Unification stated, “If there is a natural opportunity to contact the North Korean side during the ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue,’ we plan to use that opportunity to explain our government’s commitment to the Korean Peninsula peace and coexistence policy and to urge the necessity of inter-Korean dialogue for peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.”

Published Date:2026-06-03