1. During her visit to the United Kingdom from July 17 till 19, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, together with new Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt of the UK, held the fourth Republic of Korea-UK foreign ministerial strategic dialogue on July 18. In the meeting, the two top diplomats discussed matters of mutual concern, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, post-Brexit bilateral relations and cooperation, and global issues.

※ The “ROK-UK foreign ministerial strategic dialogue” platform was launched in 2014 to promote the bilateral ties as well as cooperation on major regional and global issues.

2. Minister Kang shared with her UK counterpart the current situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as the ROK government’s efforts to achieve a complete denuclearization and a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula on the back of the outcome of the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summit talks. On that note, she asked the UK, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and one of the ROK’s major friends, to remain supportive of the ROK government’s policy toward North Korea.

° Secretary Hunt, commending the ROK government’s efforts to improve its relations with North Korea and establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, underscored the need for the ROK and the UK, along with the international community, to keep firmly in place the sanctions against North Korea until the North’s pledges were translated into tangible action.

3. The Minister and the Secretary noted that the “Brexit implementation period” agreed upon at the EU summit in March would facilitate a smooth transition of the system of bilateral treaties. They agreed to consult closely with each other to seek ways to work together to continue promoting the bilateral friendship and cooperation in trade, investment and other areas even after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

※ The UK is the ROK’s second-largest trade and investment partner in Europe.

° Minister Kang, expressing concern over the lately growing tide of trade protectionism over steel, asked for the UK government’s attention to this issue.

※ The European Commission decided on July 18 to impose provisional safeguard measures on 23 product categories of steel. These measures are scheduled to be put in place on July 19.

4. The Minister and the Secretary exchanged views on ways to work together on such global matters as the rules-based international order and the Global Peace Initiative of Women, as well as ways to support bids to join international organizations.

° Secretary Hunt, voicing concern over the current situation where the rules-based international order was under threat, highlighted the need for international cooperation to maintain and strengthen the rules-based international order.

° Minister Kang, explaining the recently launched “Global Peace Initiative of Women” of the ROK, suggested that the ROK and the UK work together to reap synergistic effect from the aforementioned initiative and the latter country’s “Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI).”

※ “The Global Peace Initiative of Women” was launched by the ROK government on June 19, 2018, to contribute actively to matters concerning women, peace and security.

※ The UK’s “PSVI” has been underway since 2012 to protect victims of sexual violence in conflict, to end the stigma against those victims, and to render support to them with their health and livelihood.

5. Ahead of the fourth ROK-UK strategic dialogue, Minister Kang held a luncheon with members of the UK House of Lords and House of Commons in the UK Parliament building, during which the two sides exchanged views on ways to enhance the ROK-UK relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. After the strategic dialogue, the Minister visited and laid a wreath at the Korean War Memorial in London.

※ The UK dispatched the second-largest number of soldiers to the ROK after the US during the Korean War.

- A total of 81,084 soldiers were dispatched from the UK during the Korean War, out of which 1,106 were killed and another 2,674 injured.

6. Minister Kang’s strategic dialogue with her new UK counterpart during her first visit to the UK since her inauguration is seen to have served as an opportunity to review bilateral issues and to seek closer cooperation on the regional and global levels.

* unofficial translation