1. On the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, Minister Yun Byung-se met bilaterally with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters on September 22. In their meeting, the two sides exchanged views on North Korea’s fifth nuclear test and such UN issues as climate change, the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the refugee issue.

2. Minister Yun, extending appreciation to Secretary-General Ban for condemning North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in a press conference on the heels of the test, noted that the “international community vs. North Korea” confrontation structure has been set, as can be seen from 20-odd countries having condemned the North’s nuclear test in their keynote speeches over the first two days of the UN General Assembly session. He added that it would help adopt a tough Security Council sanctions resolution on North Korea.

° Secretary-General Ban voiced hope that the member states of the UN Security Council will come together to adopt a new sanctions resolution on North Korea as soon as possible.

3. Secretary-General Ban, extending appreciation to President Park Geun-hye for delivering a video message at the high-level event on September 21 regarding the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change, underscored the need to bring the Paris Agreement into force at an early date. In response, Minister Yun spoke of the ROK government’s efforts to accelerate its ratification process.

° Minister Yun brought attention to the active contribution of the ROK as the chair country of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to the implementation of the SDGs and to the establishment of a relevant review system. He added that, building upon its development experiences, the ROK will make more contributions in the area.

° Minister Yun also mentioned that the ROK had pledged more than 230 million US dollars in humanitarian assistance over the next three years in a bid to help resolve the refugee issue.

4. Minister Yun commended Secretary-General Ban for his numerous accomplishments over the past ten years in such areas as responses to climate change, sustainable development, gender equality, the refugee issue and UN reform.

° Secretary-General Ban extended appreciation to the government and people of the ROK for their support during his tenure as UN Secretary-General.


* unofficial translation