China, Japan and South Korea together to share culture in the region

For years, the culture ministers of the three countries meet to promote cooperation. Each year, each country chooses their own East Asian Culture City. For South Korea’s Culture Minister, working together allows the three “to melt the last piece of ice of the Cold War left on the Korean Peninsula and open a new way toward contributing to peace and coexistence in Northeast Asia".

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Culture ministers from South Korea, China and Japan began a three-day annual meeting in Harbin, China, aimed at sharing culture and promoting peace in the region.

Under an agreement reached during the fourth culture ministers' talks in 2012, the three countries each designate one of their cities as an East Asian Culture City every year. This year, South Korea's second largest city of Busan shares the title with Harbin and Kanazawa of Japan.

Culture ministers Do Jong-whan of South Korea, Luo Shugang of China and Yoshimasa Hayashi of Japan will discuss ways to expand trilateral cultural exchanges and cooperation and announce a declaration for this on Thursday.

In the pre-release version of the declaration, Mr Do vowed to push for the development of the common brand of the East Asian Culture City programme and for greater cooperation among cultural and artistic organisations of the three countries.

To this end, the three countries agreed to establish an executive office of the East Asian Culture City project in each country.

In tomorrow’s meeting, Do is expected to emphasise the need for greater cultural cooperation between the three countries and North Korea as a way to promote peace and expand cultural exchanges in the region.

In his address, the South Korean minister stressed the need for the three major East Asian countries "to melt the last piece of ice of the Cold War left on the Korean Peninsula and open a new way toward contributing to peace and coexistence in Northeast Asia".