[Keith Krach , Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha]

[Harry Harris , Keith Krach , Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha , David Stilwell]

1. On the morning of November 6, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha met with Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach and Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell of the United States who are on their visit to the Republic of Korea. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on various issues of mutual interest such as ways for reciprocal development of the Republic of Korea (ROK)-United States (U.S.) relations, regional cooperation, the ROK and Japan relations, and so on.

2. Minister Kang expressed hope that the 4th ROK-U.S. Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) and the ROK-U.S. Joint Public-Private Economic Forum would serve as opportunities to further expand areas of cooperation, including seeking concrete ways of collaboration between the ROK’s New Southern Policy and the U.S.’ Indo-Pacific Strategy.

○ Under Secretary Krach and Assistant Secretary Stilwell agreed to continue efforts to promote regional peace and prosperity based on shared regional cooperation principles upheld by the two countries such as openness, inclusiveness and transparency.
 
3. Regarding the current issues between the ROK and Japan, Minister Kang explained the efforts of the ROK government to draw reasonable solutions through dialogue. The U.S. noted that such efforts are encouraging, and shared the view that such endeavors should continue.

4. The two sides shared the understanding that close communication and cooperation at each level are vital to dealing with a number of current issues between the ROK-U.S. alliance, and agreed to further strengthen efforts in that regard.