1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, during his visit to Beijing for the fifth Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), met bilaterally with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China on April 27. In their meeting, the two top diplomats discussed in depth the Republic of Korea-China relations and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

2. At their summit talks held on March 31 on the sidelines of the latest Nuclear Security Summit, Presidents Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping agreed to take the ROK-China strategic cooperative partnership a notch higher based on mutual respect and trust. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to build on that summit agreement to step up cooperation in various sectors and thereby advance the bilateral relations in a substantial manner.

° The two top diplomats agreed to actively undertake strategic communication at the summit and other high levels on such multilateral stages as the G20 in 2016; and to put into full gear various communication channels between the two countries, including the fourth strategic dialogue and the track-1.5 dialogue. In addition, the two Ministers, taking note of the bilateral director-general-level meeting on the delimitation of the maritime boundaries held in Beijing on April 22, agreed to continue cooperation in order to make progress in the relevant negotiations.

° The two Ministers also agreed to make joint efforts for an early completion of the report on a mid-term vision for bilateral economic cooperation in the wake of the entry of the bilateral FTA into force by building upon the outcome of the 21st meeting of the Joint Economic Committee, which had recently been held in Seoul.

° In addition, the two Ministers agreed to conduct in 2016 the 69 humanities exchange projects as announced on the occasion of the bilateral summit talks on March 31; and to work together to further increase people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in 2016, the “Korea Tourism Year.”

3. The two Foreign Ministers noted with appreciation that their two countries are strengthening strategic communication on North Korea and its nuclear issues under the firm principle of no tolerance for a nuclear North Korea. Minister Yun expressed deep concern over North Korea’s continued provocations even after the adoption of the latest UN Security Council resolution on the country. In that regard, he highlighted the need to deter and respond sternly to further provocations from North Korea, should they be carried out. The two top diplomats agreed to coordinate closely with the international community and to communicate and cooperate closely with each other for a thorough implementation of Security Council resolutions.

° The two Ministers shared the view that the possibility of further nuclear or missile tests by North Korea is the most grave and pressing challenge. In that regard, Minister Yun stressed that should North Korea conduct another nuclear test or any other further provocations, additional significant measures should be taken pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 2270.

4. The meeting between Foreign Ministers Yun and Wang on April 27, the eleventh of its kind, is expected to contribute to efforts to promote the ROK-China relations and communication between the Foreign Ministers on the current, grave situation on the Korean Peninsula, as well as efforts to deepen the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership.


* unofficial translation