○ Online training session to strengthen general management competence for landmine clearance in the Mekong Basin successfully completed
– Contributing to the promotion of peace in the Mekong Basin, building a foundation of support and cooperation in the international community for a safe and landmine-free DMZ
○ Participation in program development and training operation by MAG, an international landmine-relief NGO
– “Landmine clearance requires international cooperation” – strengthening cooperation with Gyeonggi Province for DMZ landmine clearance

Gyeonggi Province announced that it successfully held an online training program from May 31 to June 9 on strengthening general management competence for landmine clearance in the Mekong Basin in order to foster landmine-clearing professionals who will operate in that region.

The training program was held as part of the “Gyeonggi-type” peace-building official development assistance (ODA) international cooperation project that the province launched this year. The purpose of the training program was to build a foundation for peace in the Mekong Basin and increase the international community’s empathy for the need to clear landmines from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea, a necessary step in the transformation of the area into a peace zone.

The Seoul Cyber University, with its digital education capabilities, has joined with the international landmine-relief non-governmental organization Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in the development and operation of the training program. The main focus of the training program was to improve general management and practical operation capacities pertaining to landmine-related issues, such as cultivating data and information processing capacities related to landmine clearing, and improving management capacities for survivors and family members of victims.

MAG specializes in education and technical consulting services related to landmine clearance. It also led the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the training program was held online; 21 people including related public officials and private organizations from countries in the Mekong region—Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam—participated in the program.

With this training course providing impetus, the provincial government intends to pursue its role as a local autonomy that leads landmine-clearing movements in conflict areas around the world beyond the Mekong Basin. Based on the success of this training program, the provincial government will expand its peace ODA project and create a foundation for international cooperation for landmine clearing in the Korean DMZ.

Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Jae-gang said, “The recent explosion in the Janghang Wetland, which is believed to have been due to a landmine, serves to remind us that such incidents are an international problem that can happen anywhere in the world at any time. International cooperation in relation to landmine clearing is critical for the transformation of the perilous DMZ into a safe zone.”

MAG will also examine the status of landmine clearing in Korea in tandem with comparable activities in the Mekong Basin so as to identify ways in which to strengthen international cooperation in landmine clearing together with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government.

MAG Technical Director Mikael Bold emphasized, “Developing landmine clearing professionals requires the sharing of a wide range of case studies and technical application methods, which can only be achieved through international cooperation.” He also expressed his intent to cooperate with Korea, saying, “In the case of the Janghang Wetland accident, it is possible to determine where the landmine was buried and lost through a joint international investigation.”