1. During her visit to the Kingdom of Thailand for ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha held a bilateral meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs II of Brunei Darussalam Erywan Yusof on the afternoon of August 1. In the meeting, the two Ministers exchanged views on issues including the ROK-Brunei relations, cooperation between the ROK and ASEAN (in preparations for the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit), and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. 

2. Minister Kang mentioned that it was pleasing to be reunited with her Bruneian counterpart after the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in the previous month (July 4, Seoul), which would serve as an opportunity to have in-depth discussions on ways to cooperate between the ROK and Brunei as well as the ROK and ASEAN.

○ Strongly agreeing with Minister Kang, Minister Erywan noted that high-level exchanges are maintained between the two countries.

- Minister Kang went on to note that close bilateral cooperation is underway in regard to infrastructure, energy, and information and communication technology (ICT), including follow-up measures to President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to Brunei in March 2019.

3. In the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the two Ministers noted the ROK-ASEAN relations that are continuously expanding and deepening, and shared their in-depth views on major regional and global current issues, including the Korean Peninsula issues and ways to respond to protectionism.

○ The two Ministers also noted with appreciation that the ROK and ASEAN have expanded and deepened mutual cooperation in various aspects including maintaining peace and stability in the region, promoting economic development, as well as invigorating people-to-people and cultural exchanges over the past three decades.

○ Minister Kang also asked for ASEAN’s continued cooperation and support for the ROK government’s policy to achieve complete denuclearization and to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Minister Erywan took note of the ROK government’s policy and commitment and reaffirmed his will to support the ROK on the Korean Peninsula issues.

- As Minister Kang noted with emphasis that Japan’s recent retaliatory export restrictive measures against the ROK defy the global free trade order as well as mutual prosperity between the ROK and ASEAN, Minister Erywan expressed consent to Minister Kang’s view on the importance of free trade order.

4. Furthermore, Minister Kang highlighted that the ROK government is in full gear to draw substantive outcome and to prepare diverse events to successfully hold the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit which will take place in Busan in November 2019, and explained that the ROK government will closely consult with ASEAN.

○ Minister Erywan extended appreciation to the ROK’s efforts; hoped that the Commemorative Summit will serve as a significant momentum for the development of the ROK-ASEAN relations; and mentioned that as a country coordinator between the ROK and ASEAN, Brunei will actively help the ROK for the success of the event.