Northwest military and trade leaders will talk South Korea at UWT forum
The highest-ranking military officer in the Northwest will join one of South Korea’s top diplomats at a public forum on trade and security at the University of Washington Tacoma this week.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza of Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s I Corps and Moon Duk-ho of South Korea’s consulate in Seattle are two of the featured speakers at UWT’s four Views on the Pacific forum.
They’ll be joined by Robert Hamilton, who advises Gov. Jay Inslee on trade policy, and Clark Sorenson, the director of the Center for Korean Studies at UW’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.
UTW since 2013 has held three other Pacific forums bringing together military and business leaders for discussions on ties between the Northwest and East Asia.
South Korea is one of Washington state’s largest trade partners. It’s also the site of regular deployments for soldiers stationed at JBLM.
Lanza’s I Corps headquarters participates every year in major military exercises with the South Korean army. Other units at JBLM, such as the 2nd Infantry Division Artillery command, regularly train for potential conflicts on the Korean Peninsula.
Duk-ho has served in South Korea’s foreign affairs ministry for more than 25 years. He has participated in multi-lateral negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to end its nuclear program.
The forum is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday in UWT’s Philip Hall, 1918 Pacific Avenue.
This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Northwest military and trade leaders will talk South Korea at UWT forum."