1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on September 26 on the occasion of the UN General Assembly, and discussed ways to work together to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and to establish a lasting peace on the Peninsula, as well as the way forward for the Republic of Korea-Japan relationship.

2. Minister Kang explained the results of the inter-Korean summit held in Pyeongyang, and stressed the need for the ROK and Japan to continue to closely cooperate to make tangible progress in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and establishing peace.

o Minister Kono spoke highly of the ROK government’s efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and offered to continue close communications and cooperation between the two countries to make sure that the latest inter-Korean summit leads to progress in North Korea’s implementation of denuclearization measures, and in denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea.

3. With about two weeks left until the 20th anniversary of the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Joint Declaration (October 8), the two Ministers reaffirmed the need to step up substantive cooperation to advance the ROK-Japan relations in a future-oriented manner, and agreed to continue consultations between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries to do so.

o The two Ministers especially agreed to continue to work together to achieve positive results in increasing substantive cooperation, drawing upon the outcomes of reviews conducted by the two countries’ task forces to facilitate cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the ROK and Japan.

4. In addition, Minister Kono explained the Japanese side’s position on historical issues, including the “comfort women” issue, and Minister Kang offered to handle issues regarding the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation in a wise manner based on the results of the ROK-Japan summit on September 25.

* unofficial translation