1. On the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha attended the second Troika Ministers’ Meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) on September 22. In the meeting, the Minister exchanged views with the other top diplomats on FEALAC’s way forward and the situation on the Korean Peninsula that has grown in gravity in the wake of the sixth nuclear test by North Korea on September 3.

※ The FEALAC Troika mechanism, set up to enhance FEALAC’s visibility and promote the continuity of agenda and cooperation projects, held its inaugural meeting on September 22, 2016, on the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

- The Troika is usually composed of the previous, current and next Regional Coordinators for East Asia and Latin America. However, pursuant to the agreement reached at the eighth FEALAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on August 31, 2017, the second Troika meeting brought together the Regional Coordinators before the previous ones (Thailand and Costa Rica), and the previous (the ROK and Guatemala) and current ones (Laos and Guatemala).

2. The meeting mainly covered specific ways to implement the key measures agreed upon at the eighth FEALAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Busan on August 31.

° The foreign ministers of the Troika countries shared the view that at the Busan meeting, solid groundwork had been laid for FEALAC to take another leap forward, and agreed to work together in running the FEALAC Fund and in thoroughly implementing the “New FEALAC Action Plan.”

° In addition, the foreign ministers of the Troika countries agreed to hold the first meeting of the FEALAC Fund Steering Committee, which will be in charge of running the Fund, in Seoul in January 2018 and put into full gear cooperation projects, including by selecting the co-chairs, setting decision-making procedures and regulations, and drawing up work plans for the year 2018.

※ The Steering Committee is comprised of the ROK and the other member states of the FEALAC Troika, donor countries, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ELAC). The other member states of FEALAC can attend its meetings as observers.

3. Minister Kang extended appreciation to FEALAC for adopting at the Busan meeting on August 31 a declaration expressing concern over the ballistic missile launches and other provocations by North Korea, and including a warning message to the North. She went on to stress that the North’s sixth nuclear test on September 3 is a reckless and irresponsible act that poses a threat to peace and stability of the entire international community, and asked for the Troika’s continued attention to and support for the efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

° The foreign ministers of the Troika countries, which represent all of the 36 member states of FEALAC, called North Korea’s nuclear test an intolerable, grave threat to the international community; were united in condemning the provocation in strong terms; and reaffirmed their support for the new ROK government’s policy toward the North.

4. The second Troika Ministers’ Meeting, which came after the first of its kind held in September 2016 at the suggestion of the ROK, was successful. Accordingly, the Troika mechanism is seen to have established itself as a major consultative channel representing the FEALAC leadership.

° The second Troika meeting, which focused on ways to follow up on the outcome of the Busan meeting, is seen to have contributed to the efforts to maintain the momentum of the work regarding the FEALAC fund, the New FEALAC Action Plan, and other main agenda of FEALAC.


* unofficial translation