The NUAC (National Unification Advisory Council) announced the inauguration of foreign municipal chapters and held the 17th inaugural session of the Atlanta and Miami Chapters in order to share its goals and vision for the peaceful unification of Korea.

The inaugural session held at 6:00pm, August 1, 2015 at the Sonesta Gwinnett Place was attended by some 130 people including council members of the 17th session, Koreans living in the area and consulate staff.

Cho Seong-hyeok, head of the Atlanta Chapter said, "In celebrating the 17th anniversary of Kora's liberation, we the council members of the 17th Atlanta Chapter will take initiative and take a step further to turn this year into the first year towards the unification of Korea." He promised to turn his chapter into an organization recognized by the local Korean community by promoting communication between the council members.

At the inaugural session, Lee Sang-yong, former head of the Atlanta Chapter, gave a farewell speech in which he asked the Atlanta Chapter members of the 17th session to make headway in realizing the peaceful unification of Korea with the cooperation of the local Korean community.

The inaugural session held at 6:00pm, August 3, 2015 at the Four Seasons Hotel was attended by some 50 people including council members of the 17th session, Koreans living in the area and consulate staff.

In his opening address, Steve Seo, head of the Miami Chapter said, "We'll first work towards forming a consensus of people who still don't see the need for the unification of Korea through various programs such as the Next-Generation Workshop and Conference on Peaceful Unification. I wish the members of the 17th session to work harder in drawing the attention of not only Koreans living in Miami but also non-Koreans to the unification of Korea."

Cho Gyeong-gu, head of the Florida Chapter, gave a congratulatory speech in which he said, "Thanks to the NUAC members who work so hard to prepare for the unification of Korea, our dream of unification will be a reality in the near future, not in the distant future." He asked the members of the Miami Chapter of the 17th session to work towards building a basis for the Unification of Korea just as their predecessors did.

Consul General Kim Seong-jin also gave a congratulatory speech, thanking the members of foreign municipal chapters for their effort in building the basis for the unification of Korea. He asked the members of foreign municipal chapters to strengthen their activities and make substantial progress in preparation for the unification of Korea both inside the Korean community and mainstream American society.

Shin Yong-un, a Director of the Secretariat of the NUAC, presented reports on "The Direction for Activities of the 17th NUAC" submitted by the Atlanta and Miami Chapters. In his presentation, he said, "One of the particularly important objectives in promoting the preparation of the unification of Korea is internationalization." He went on to ask the members of foreign municipal chapters to: 1) Form a consensus among Koreans living abroad on the unification of Korea and related policies. 2) Gain the support of the global community in the unification of Korea. 3) Strengthen the resolve of Koreans living abroad to work together towards the unification of Korea.

Kim Yeong-su, professor at Sogang University, gave a lecture titled 'Conditions around the Korean Peninsula and the Relationship Between North and South Korea'. In the lecture he said that the prerequisites for the peaceful unification of Korea are: 1) Strong national security. 2) Normalization of the relationship between North and South Korea through the process of building trust between the two. 3) A solid basis for the unification of Korea based on 'trust diplomacy'. He said that to gain support for the unification of Korea, we need the interest and participation of foreign municipal chapter members and Koreans living abroad more than anything.

The Atlanta and Miami chapters held a meeting of senior members and local Korean communities to discuss matters of unification activities and current issues of the 17th session.