1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited Washington DC on June 15 and met with National Security Adviser Susan Rice of the White House. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the issue of rescheduling President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the US; North Korea and its nuclear issue; the Republic of Korea-United States alliance; peace and stability in Northeast Asia; and global cooperation.

2. In the meeting, the two sides brought renewed attention to the fact that the leaders of their two countries, in their telephone conversation on June 12, had agreed to reschedule President Park’s visit for “the earliest mutually convenient time.” They agreed to consult on and finalize the specific timing of President Park’s visit to the US through bilateral diplomatic channels, with the schedules of the two leaders and international diplomatic events factored in.

3. With regard to North Korea and its nuclear issue, amid the recent threats from the country and its unstable internal situation, the two sides agreed to firmly deter its provocations based on their steadfast, combined defense capabilities. Furthermore, they agreed to step up coordination among five member countries of the Six-Party Talks minus North Korea for tangible progress toward denuclearization, while putting strong pressure on North Korea and making efforts to resume meaningful dialogue.

4. The two sides welcomed the formal signing of the historic bilateral Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy on June 15, calling it another central pillar like the Mutual Defense Treaty and the KORUS (Korea-US) FTA that buttresses the bilateral alliance as well as an exemplary case of a win-win outcome from trust-based creative efforts on a bilateral issue. They agreed to make efforts for the blueprint for bilateral nuclear cooperation to lead to tangible results.

5. The two sides also consulted on issues concerning peace and stability as well as other major issues in Northeast Asia. Furthermore, they exchanged in-depth views on ways for global cooperation on non-proliferation, healthcare and climate change.

◦ Minister Yun extended appreciation to the US government for its strong willingness to render assistance to the ROK in countering the latter’s MERS situation. The two sides, calling the MERS situation in the ROK, like the Ebola virus crisis in 2014, a case clearly illustrating the importance of the US-led Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), agreed to work more closely together in the healthcare security field, including at the second GHSA high-level meeting set to take place in Seoul in 2015.

◦ In addition, the ROK and the US agreed to consult closely with each other to make a success of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change slated to be held in Paris in December. Minister Yun, commending the US for its leadership in addressing global climate change, spoke of the ROK’s plan to finalize its goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions after public discussions at home.


* unofficial translation