1. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam paid a courtesy call on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on January 18, New York time, during which the senior diplomat informed the UN leader of the progress in the recent inter-Korean talks and the Republic of Korea government’s efforts to use the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as an opportunity to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.

2. Vice Minister Lim, calling North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang sporting event and relevant inter-Korean talks a significant opportunity for alleviating tensions and achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, asked for the Secretary-General’s continued attention to the efforts to render the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games “Olympics of peace” that can contribute to the reconciliation and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

° Secretary-General Guterres, commending the ROK government and expressing support for all its efforts to achieve the shared international goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, stated that the UN will do everything it can to help move forward meaningful dialogue with North Korea.

3. Vice Minister Lim, welcoming the Secretary-General’s plan to visit the ROK during the PyeongChang Olympics, stressed that the ROK government, based on its enhanced standing in the international community, will continue communication with the UN to prevent conflicts and build peace in the international community.

4. Vice Minister Lim held a live interview with the “Amanpour” show of CNN, an American media outlet, in which he spoke about the progress in the recent inter-Korean talks and actively promoted the ROK government’s efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. He also met with Daniel Russel, Senior Fellow of the Asia Society and former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; former US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy; President Thomas Bayne of the Korea Society. In the meeting, he sought to raise the US academia’s awareness and understanding on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and asked them to continually play a constructive, bridging role in the public diplomacy efforts to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the nationals of the ROK and the US.  

※ The aforementioned interview is available for viewing (in some areas only for now) at the following web address:

http://www.pbs.org/video/amanpour-ash-carter-and-lim-sung-nam-uyhvg0/

* unofficial translation