1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha attended the tenth MIKTA foreign ministers’ meeting held in New York on September 22 on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. In the meeting, the Minister discussed with her counterparts from the other MIKTA countries situations on the Korean Peninsula and in other parts of the world.

※ MIKTA, a consultative mechanism among the middle power countries of Mexico, Indonesia, (the Republic of) Korea, Turkey and Australia, was launched during the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2013.

※ The foreign ministers of the other MIKTA countries are Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray Caso of Mexico and Foreign Ministers Retno L.P. Marsudi of Indonesia, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu of Turkey, and Julie Bishop of Australia.

2. With regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Kang expressed deep concern over North Korea having launched two ICBM-grade missiles in July and conducted its sixth nuclear test on September 3 in defiance of repeated warnings from the ROK government and the international community. On that note, she extended appreciation to MIKTA for issuing a statement on September 6, in which it had expressed shared concern over the gravity of the North Korean nuclear issue as well as solidarity against it.

° The foreign ministers of the MIKTA countries, hailing the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2375 with tough sanctions merely nine days after the nuclear test by North Korea, jointly urged the North to thoroughly implement the relevant UN resolutions and take the path toward denuclearization and peace as suggested by the international community.

※ MIKTA issued foreign ministers’ joint statements in April 2014, January 2016, September 2016, and September 2017 condemning North Korea’s nuclear and missile development as well as its fourth, fifth and sixth nuclear tests, respectively.

- In its statement issued to condemn the North’s sixth nuclear test, MIKTA expressed grave concern over the September 3 nuclear test, saying that it constitutes a flagrant threat to international peace and security and severely undermines the rules-based international order.

3. With respect to the recent violence and refugee production in Rakhine State, Myanmar, the foreign ministers of the MIKTA countries voiced deep concern over the humanitarian crisis and called for an immediate stop to violent actions, the protection of civilians and humanitarian assistance. They added that active cooperation will be rendered to the Myanmarese government and the international community toward the resolution of this issue.

4. As to the current situation in Venezuela, the foreign ministers of the MIKTA countries voiced hope that it will be resolved in a peaceful manner through dialogue among parties concerned, restoring stability and order in the country as soon as possible.

5. It marks the fourth year since MIKTA was launched in September 2013 to promote cooperation among middle power countries and rules-based international order. Since its launch, MIKTA has seen considerable progress toward the institutionalization of cooperation, including by holding ten foreign ministerial meetings and two consultations among parliament speakers. It will continue efforts to contribute to and be vocal about key global agenda.


* unofficial translation