1. On September 9, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan, who is visiting the Republic of Korea to attend the 2nd Global Health Security Agenda High-Level Meeting. They discussed ways to strengthen health security, including response to infectious diseases, as well as ways to enhance cooperation between the ROK and the WHO.

2. Minister Yun noted with appreciation that the WHO had consistently cooperated with the ROK to end the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the ROK, and said that the ROK government will actively join the WHO’s efforts to effectively respond to infectious diseases, including MERS.

o Director-General Chan congratulated the ROK on successfully hosting the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) High-Level Meeting, and commended the ROK for overcoming the MERS outbreak in its early stages through effective and stern responses.

3. Minister Yun said that the ROK, together with the WHO, will expand global cooperation to strengthen the international health system, and explained that the ROK will also strengthen cooperation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

o Director-General Chan took note of the ROK government’s active participation and support in relation to the WHO, and requested the ROK government’s support for the WHO’s efforts to strengthen a unified system and establish an emergency response system for response to infectious diseases.

4. Meanwhile, in his welcome speech at the GHSA High-Level Meeting on September 9, Minister Yun introduced a case where the ROK actively participated in the global response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. He also stressed that the health issue has emerged as a security issue which requires transboundary measures for solution and that the international community’s joint response is necessary.

5. Minister Yun also laid out measures to develop the GHSA into a central player in global health security, including mustering participating countries’ political will; supporting developing countries’ capacity-building efforts; and strengthening capabilities to respond to bioterrorism. Minister Yun expressed the ROK government’s intent to pursue humanitarian diplomacy to that end.

6. Furthermore, mentioning the measures for inter-Korean cooperation in health and medical services and multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia, which President Park Geun-hye has proposed, Minister Yun hoped that health security could facilitate cooperation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.


*unofficial translation