1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, during his official visit to Bulgaria, held a meeting and a working luncheon with his Bulgarian counterpart Daniel Mitov on June 15. The two top diplomats discussed in depth ways for the Republic of Korea and Bulgaria to step up their substantive cooperation; ways to coordinate on the North Korean nuclear issue; ways to work together on the international stage; and situations in key regions of the world.

2. The two sides noted with appreciation that the official visit of President Rosen Plevneliev to the ROK in May 2015 in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations and the first visit to Bulgaria by an ROK Foreign Minister since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1990 serve as historic milestones in bilateral relations. They agreed to seek further substantial advances in the bilateral “comprehensive, future-oriented partnership” forged by the Presidents of the two countries at their summit talks in 2015.

° The two Ministers agreed to realize the potential for increased bilateral trade and investment by drawing upon their mutually comprehensive trade structures and the ROK-EU FTA. Minister Yun particularly asked for the Bulgarian government’s attention to and support for Korean investors.

° The two sides agreed to broaden the scope of cooperation to include energy, infrastructure, information and communications technology (ICT), national defense, defense industry, agriculture and environment, as discussed at the bilateral summit talks in May 2015, and to seek out specific cooperation projects at an early date. In that vein, they hailed the first meeting of their joint economic committee in October 2015 and agreed to put into full gear their inter-governmental consultative mechanisms, including the joint committee on science and technology, and the committees for industrial cooperation and for ICT cooperation.

° The two sides shared the view that increased cultural and people-to-people exchanges pursuant to the bilateral “Arrangement on Cooperation in the Fields of Education and Culture for the Years 2015-2018,” which had been adopted at the bilateral summit meeting in 2015, will help further consolidate the bilateral relations. To this end, they agreed to continue boosting exchanges between their students and youngsters, and to promote Korean studies in Bulgaria and Bulgarian studies in the ROK.

3. With regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Yun explained in detail the international community’s stern response to North Korea’s nuclear test and launch of ballistic missiles in early 2016, including the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2270. He extended appreciation to Bulgaria, a member of the Peace Club, for its strong support for the position of the ROK government on North Korea’s nuclear tests and missile test-launches. He also asked Bulgaria to make efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2270 and the EU’s unilateral sanctions against North Korea.

° In addition, Minister Yun explained the intensive diplomatic efforts that the ROK government has been making under its strategic roadmap in the wake of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2270 to seek global coordination on North Korea. He added that in his meeting with his Russian counterpart in Russia just before his visit to Bulgaria, the Russian side had expressed a stern opposition to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. He also extended appreciation to Bulgaria, a gateway to Southeast Europe and North Korea’s key foothold in the region, for holding a firm position on non-tolerance for a nuclear North Korea, the denuclearization of North Korea and human rights issues in the North, as well as in favor of collaboration on cyber security.

° In response, Minister Mitov stated that Bulgaria has supported the efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strongly condemns North Korea for its recent nuclear test and missile launches, adding that Bulgaria will thoroughly implement the Security Council sanctions resolution and the EU’s unilateral sanctions on North Korea. Minister Mitov, saying that Bulgaria is with the ROK and the international community in being concerned over the issue of overseas laborers from North Korea, expressed willingness to cooperate actively in international efforts in that regard.

4. The two top diplomats exchanged views on the situations in Northeast Asia, the EU and Southeast Europe; shared with each other their views on such major international issues as refugees and terrorism; and agreed to work more closely together at ASEM and other regional consultative mechanisms.

° Minister Mitov reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for the ROK’s initiative for a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, the Trust-Building Process on the Korean Peninsula, and Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative. Minister Yun asked the Bulgarian government to render support to the ASEM project that the ROK government is leading as part of efforts to implement its Eurasia Initiative with the aim to enhance the connectivity between Europe and Asia.

5. During his visit to Bulgaria, Minister Yun paid courtesy calls on President Rosen Plevneliev and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. On those occasions, the two sides, taking note of steady advances in bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, agreed to make efforts to boost high-level exchanges; increase bilateral trade and investment; broaden the scope of substantive cooperation to include infrastructure and ICT, among others; and thereby move forward the “comprehensive, future-oriented partnership,” forged in May 2015.

° President Plevneliev and Prime Minister Borissov affirmed that Bulgaria fully supports the efforts for the denuclearization of North Korea and will take an active part in the international community’s implementation of sanctions on North Korea in response to the North’s nuclear and missile provocations. In particular, the President, bringing attention to his anti-communism, stressed that his reference to the ROK as Korea instead of the ROK comes from his firm belief in the ROK-led peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, human rights and democracy.

6. Minister Yun’s visit to Bulgaria is seen to have served as an opportunity to discuss specific ways to step up substantive cooperation in such future-oriented sectors as energy, infrastructure and environment with Bulgaria, a major country in Southeast Europe that is seeing a rapid economic growth; and to seek active cooperation from Bulgaria, a member state of the EU and NATO that has achieved a successful regime change, in the thorough implementation of the Security Council sanctions resolution and the EU’s unilateral sanctions on North Korea.


* unofficial translation