Seoul forms advisory panel for nuke summit

The Korean government said it has established an eminent persons’ group to provide advice to President Lee Myung-bak when South Korea hosts the Nuclear Security Summit in March.

The 15-member group will include India’s former President Abdul Kalam, Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry, former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and former South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The EPG will provide consulting and policy advice for President Lee on the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit and raise awareness of the summit around the world, the ministry said.

The group members are scheduled to hold their first meeting in Seoul on Nov. 29, it said.

Four members of the EPG are from the U.S. and three of them ― Henry Kissinger, Sen. Sam Nunn of the Democratic Party and William Perry ― have significant influence on nuclear issues, a ministry official said.

The Foreign Ministry has high expectations for their roles, he said.

“Whether the EPG will have a second meeting before the summit in March will be decided later on,” he said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)