1. On September 11, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met with a delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which included Chairman of its Sub-Committee on Future Security and Defence Capabilities Xavier Pintat, and exchanged views on cooperative relations between the ROK and NATO, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and the situation in Northeast Asia.

o The delegation is on a visit to the ROK from September 11 to 14 at the official invitation of the National Assembly of the ROK.

2. Vice Minister Cho took note that the ROK-NATO cooperative relations, which started in 2005 with then-Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the NATO headquarters, have steadily developed despite its relatively short history through the ROK’s participation in NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan; the ROK-NATO policy consultations; and the signing of the ROK-NATO Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP).

o Vice Minister Cho said that efforts to enhance mutual understanding through exchanges between the parliaments of the two sides, including the dispatch of an ROK parliamentary delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s annual meeting (seven times) and a NATO Parliamentary Assembly delegation’s visit to the ROK (four times), have significantly contributed to the development of the ROK-NATO relations. He asked for the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s interest and support to further advance the ROK-NATO relations.

3. On the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Vice Minister Cho said that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is more severe than ever before in the wake of North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile provocations. He especially stressed that North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on September 3, its most powerful test ever that came after its ICBM-level ballistic missile launches, is not only a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, but a very big and serious challenge to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the whole world.

o He expressed appreciation for NATO’s active support to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, including immediately issuing a statement by the NATO Secretary General on North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on September 3, and holding the North Atlantic Council (NAC)’s special meeting exclusively dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue for the first time in December 2016. He asked for NATO member states’ continued cooperation in establishing a lasting peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

4. The delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly expressed appreciation for Vice Minister Cho’s detailed explanation, and said that their meeting with the Vice Minister served as an opportunity for them to become aware of the importance of the ROK-NATO partnership and to better understand the situation on the Korean Peninsula. They also said that the meeting helped legislators from NATO member states paying more attention to Europe broaden their range of thinking.

5. The delegation’s visit to the ROK, which came after the 9th ROK-NATO policy consultation in July this year, will serve as an opportunity to obtain NATO member states’ understanding and support on the need to step up cooperation between the ROK and NATO, as well as the ROK government’s major foreign policies.


* unofficial translation