On Tuesday, October 29, Judith Bunting, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula, visited NARS along with three other Members of the European Parliament. The visit was a part of the “2019 Invitation Project for Members of the European Parliament,” conducted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the European Union.
Chief of NARS, Kim Ha-joong, expressed deep gratitude to the delegation for their visit and stated, “The MOU between the National Assembly Research Service and the European Parliamentary Research Service signed last September, and this visit by the European Parliament Delegation, will deepen mutual understanding between the National Assembly of Republic of Korea and the European Parliament, and promote mutual development through exchanges and cooperation.” Vice-Chair Bunting also expressed her appreciation for NARS’s hospitality, and displayed an interest in the functions of NARS and the views and opinions of NARS Legislative Researchers on European issues.
Several Legislative Researchers from the Foreign Affairs and National Security Team presented to Vice-Chair Bunting and the visiting delegation. Seung Hyun Lee discussed “The NK-US Summit and Its Impacts on Inter-Korean Relations” and Yeikyoung Kim explained her research on “US-China Competition and Its Implications for the Korean Peninsula.” Myunghee Park and Sung Eun Shim delivered presentations on “Current Issues in South Korea-Japan Relations” and “EU Political and Economic Situations,” respectively. Finally, Eunkyoung Jeon, a Legislative Researcher from the NARS Industry and Resources Team, presented on Korea’s “Current Issues in Economy and Industry.” After the presentations, there was an in-depth discussion with the European Parliament delegation that focused on TV and radio transmissions inside North Korea.
Vice-Chair Bunting was accompanied by Members of the European Parliament Adam Bielan, Marek Paweł Balt, and Andrey Kovatchev. NARS expects that the visit by the European Parliament Delegation will further enhance bilateral exchanges and cooperation between the two parliaments.
