1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se delivered a keynote speech at a high-level debate under the theme of “NATO’s Far Eastern Flank,” hosted by the German Atlantic Association in Munich on February 11.

o The debate is a kick-off event of the Munich Security Conference, which is called “Davos Forum in the area of security.” The debate brought together about 250 people, including Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, Director-General and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) John Chipman, Bavarian State Minister Marcel Huber, Director of the German Atlantic Association Klaus Scharioth, members of Germany's lower house of parliament and the Bavarian state parliament, representatives from German academia, think tanks, and military authorities, and businessmen.

2. Minister Yun stressed that North Korea’s fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch in defiance of repeated warnings from the international community seriously threaten security not only on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, but also across the entire world, including Europe. Minister Yun requested active cooperation from European partners, including NATO, to ensure that the international community devises strong and comprehensive measures to respond to North Korea’s behavior.

o Minister Yun said that before visiting Munich, he visited New York from February 9 to 10, and discussed with representatives from the Security Council members and the UN Secretary-General ways to adopt a strong and effective Security Council sanctions resolution. Minister Yun also said that he stressed the need for this resolution to become the terminating resolution in order to prevent North Korea from conducting fifth and sixth nuclear tests.

o Minister Yun pointed out that North Korea has habitually violated international norms and Security Council resolutions, and if the international community goes on business-as-usual vis-à-vis North Korea’s nuclear tests and long-range missile development, the entire world could fall prey to Pyongyang’s nuclear blackmail.

o Minister Yun said that North Korea’s nuclear development represents the greatest challenge to the global non-proliferation regime, which is the key element of the post-war global security order. Minister Yun also emphasized that amid the rise of terrorism and violent extremism around the world, the development of nuclear weapons by the unpredictable regime in Pyongyang could turn nuclear terrorism into a reality.

o Minister Yun also criticized that as highlighted by the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI), North Korea is misguidedly pursuing nuclear weapons, while ignoring the human rights and humanitarian plight of ordinary North Koreans.

o Minister Yun said that as an extraordinary threat requires an extraordinary response, the ROK government made the difficult decision on February 10 to completely shut down the Gaesong Industrial Complex. He stressed that it is time for the international community to show zero tolerance to North Korea’s provocations.

3. Mentioning that unlike North Korea, which conducted its fourth nuclear test, Iran reached the nuclear deal with the international community, and international sanctions on the country were lifted, Minister Yun requested active interest and cooperation from the international community to ensure that North Korea also makes the right strategic choice, as Iran has already done.

4. Minister Yun took note that the relationship between the ROK and Europe is getting closer than ever across the board, including the political, economic and security fields. He outlined the ROK government’s efforts under the Eurasia Initiative to foster greater connectivity between the ROK and Europe not only physically, but also digitally and culturally.

5. In particular, Minister Yun said that the ROK and NATO are strengthening cooperation in various areas.

o Minister Yun took note of the role of NATO, which contributed to the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany by promoting security and peace in Europe, and said that the experience of German reunification needs to be shared in the process of preparing for unification on the Korean Peninsula.

o Minister Yun said that the ROK and NATO are like-minded partners who share the core values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. He added that as the ROK and NATO successfully cooperated in stabilizing Afghanistan, the two sides are increasing cooperation in addressing global threats, including proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, anti-piracy, and cyber security.

o Minister Yun said that NATO’s concept of “cooperative security” was a good source of inspiration for the ROK’s Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, which aims to build up trust in Northeast Asia.

6. This keynote speech was the first one to be delivered by Minister Yun on the global stage since North Korea’s fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch. The speech helped induce major European partners to pursue unilateral sanctions, in addition to the adoption of a strong and comprehensive Security Council resolution, by serving as an opportunity to stress to politicians, academics and other experts in Europe the increasingly interconnected security environment of the ROK and Europe, as well as the seriousness of the North Korean nuclear threat.


* unofficial translation