On April 3, the Korea Foundation and the Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbasy co-organized the 2019 Kazakhstan-Korea Denuclearization Roundtable in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. Experts from both countries discussed the Korean peace process and exchanged opinions on Kazakhstan’s denuclearization experience.

The Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbasy (FFPRK), the co-organizer of the roundtable, was founded in 2000 by former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who left office on March 19, 2019. The FFPRK is currently headed by Dariga Nursultanova Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of the former president who was elected as senate speaker on March 20, 2019. The Korea Foundation signed an MOU with the FFPRK last year, since which both parties have discussed ways to cooperate in addressing global issues and promote bilateral cultural and intellectual exchanges.

From the Korean side, Baek Ju-hyun, chair-professor of Dongguk University and former South Korean Ambassador to Kazakhstan, participated in the roundtable as moderator, with Kang Jungmin, former chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and Cho Sung-ryul, senior advisor of the Institute for National Security Strategy, as speakers. From the Kazakh side, Deputy Executive Director Igor Rogov of the FFPRK and Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbaev made welcoming remarks, with Director Yerzhan Saltybayev of the Institute of World Economy and Politics participating as moderator.

The two parties made a positive assessment of the roundtable meeting, saying it provided an opportunity to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula and Kazakhstan’s denuclearization experience and thereby seek ways to cooperate in contributing to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. They also agreed that Kazakhstan’s denuclearization experience might have useful implications for North Korea’s denuclearization and that it is necessary to continue having discussions on this issue.

Kazakhstan decided to transfer and disuse nuclear weapons, of which it was the world’s (then) fourth largest possessor and inherited from the Soviet Union in 1991 when the country gained independence. Kazakhstan has since actively participated in efforts to denuclearize and disarm Central Asia and spread a message of peace worldwide.