South Korea's top diplomat has said that the country will actively position itself as a cooperation hub in various networks, highlighting its vision as a "global pivotal state."

The vision, promoted by the current government of President Yoon Suk Yeol, aims for South Korea to serve as a responsible nation that upholds and promotes freedom, human rights and the rule of law.

"Under the vision of 'global pivotal state,' the government is participating in multilateral and multi-layered networks such as South Korea-U.S.-Japan, South Korea-China-Japan, the G7, and NATO to play its role as a hub for regional cooperation networks," Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Thursday during an opening speech for the banquet dinner at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, an annual international peace forum held on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju.

Reflecting on his participation in the forum a decade ago, Cho noted significant changes over the past 10 years, making it increasingly challenging to pursue pragmatic foreign policies.

"As the divide between liberal and authoritarian worldviews deepens, it has become almost impossible to pursue pragmatic diplomacy detached from values," Cho said.

The banquet has brought together approximately 250 distinguished guests from both home and abroad, including former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, and Robert Gallucci, the chief U.S. negotiator with North Korea during the 1994 nuclear crisis. (Yonhap)