1. On November 14, First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam met bilaterally with Deputy Foreign Minister Dinara Kemelova of the Kyrgyz Republic, who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea for the tenth Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum. In their meeting, the two ranking diplomats discussed the ROK-Kyrgyz relations, ways to step up substantive cooperation, and the North Korean nuclear issue.

2. The Vice Minister and the Deputy Minister noted with appreciation that President Atambayev’s visit to the ROK in November 2013 had helped advance the bilateral relations in various fields, and agreed to work together to step up substantive cooperation as discussed at the second meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation.

3. Vice Minister Lim expressed the ROK’s willingness to contribute to the efforts of Kyrgyz to modernize its election system through development cooperation projects in the public sector. Deputy Minister Kemelova extended appreciation to the ROK for contributing to the development of democratic institutions in Kyrgyz through assistance with capability-building for election and the e-residency card system.

4. Vice Minister Lim extended appreciation to the Kyrgyz government for its active cooperation on North Korean issues, including by issuing statements of condemnation over the fourth and fifth nuclear test by the North, and asked it to cooperate closely in the implementation of the envisioned Security Council sanctions resolution on the North. Deputy Minister Kemelova stated that Kyrgyz will submit its implementation report on Security Council Resolution 2270 and take other measures to join the international efforts to sanction North Korea.

5. The ROK-Kyrgyz vice foreign ministerial meeting is seen to have served as an opportunity to seek stronger cooperation in such fields as political affairs, economy and international issues, with Kyrgyz, the ROK’s major partner for diplomacy toward Central Asia.


* unofficial translation