Launching the Online Community for the Ulaanbaatar Process: A Civil Society Dialogue for Peace and Stability in Northeast Asia

The Korean Peninsula has remained in an armistice system for decades, without a peace treaty to end the Korean War. Newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in recently warned that there is a "high possibility" of military clashes in the region. Within such a situation, dialogue is urgently needed in order to prevent the outbreak of armed conflict on the peninsula, which would have a severe impact not only in the Northeast Asian region, but also globally.

Since the launch of GPPAC Northeast Asia, regional cooperation to peacefully resolve the situation on the Korean Peninsula has been a high priority. Building upon GPPAC's extensive practical experience in facilitating mediation and dialogue processes, the Ulaanbaatar Process civil society dialogue for peace and stability in Northeast Asia was launched in 2015 in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. The process is coordinated by the GPPAC Global and Northeast Asia Regional Secretariats, and Mongolian NGO Blue Banner. It promotes effective regional Track 2 dialogue, seeking to strengthen the role of civil society as a complement to the Track 1 process, towards the development of an institutionalized regional peace and security mechanism for Northeast Asia. This process is unique in that it creates space for civil society perspectives from across the region, including both South and North Korea, to be heard in the same forum.

Following two successful rounds of meetings in 2015 and 2016, a community is now being launched on GPPAC's Peace Portal to share information and resources in relation to the Ulaanbaatar Process. This community gathers key information regarding participants, outcomes and future plans of the dialogue. Please visit the Peace Portal to learn more about this process and regionally-led civil society efforts for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.