1. On October 19, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hyoung-zhin held a meeting and a working luncheon with Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Ojars Eriks Kalnins of the Latvian Parliament, who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea. The two sides engaged in an extensive exchange of views on ways to promote the friendly and cooperative relations between the ROK and Latvia and to increase people-to-people exchanges and cooperation on tourism as well as the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe.

2. Deputy Minister Kim, attaching significance to Chairman Kalnins’ visit to the ROK in the year marking the 25th anniversary of the ROK-Latvia diplomatic relations, proposed that the two countries, as partners sharing such universal values as liberal democracy, the rule of law and human rights, work more closely together not only on the bilateral level but also on the international stage.

° Chairman Kalnins, sharing the Deputy Minister’s view on the common values of the two countries, noted that the opening of the Latvian embassy in the ROK in September 2015 and the appointment of Latvia’s first ambassador to the ROK in January 2016 had paved the way for closer cooperation between the two countries.

3. The two sides hailed the launch of a Korean language program at the University of Latvia in 2013 and the establishment of a Center for Korean Studies and a King Sejong Institute in the Latvian capital of Riga in 2016, and agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges through increased government-funded scholarship programs.

4. Deputy Minister Kim extended appreciation to Latvia for its consistent coordination on North Korean issues; stressed that North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations are a very grave threat that should be addressed with urgency; and asked Latvia to cooperate actively in the international community’s “pressure policy” toward the North, including the UN Security Council’s new sanctions resolution and the EU’s unilateral sanctions on the North.

° Chairman Kalnins, calling the North Korean nuclear program an issue concerning not only the Korean Peninsula but the global security, stated that Latvia will work closely with the ROK in sanctioning North Korea.

5. The two sides extensively exchanged views on the security situation in Europe, including Ukraine, and agreed to make efforts for the bilateral cooperation between the ROK and Latvia, NATO’s global partner and major member, respectively, to help strengthen the ROK-NATO relations.

6. The ROK-Latvia meeting on October 19 is seen to have served as a good opportunity to strengthen the friendly and cooperative ties as well as coordination on North Korean issues with Latvia, a gateway to the Baltic region.


* unofficial translation