1. On the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha attended the sixth foreign ministerial meeting between the Republic of Korea and the Quarteto countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on September 22, and discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the ROK and CELAC, as well as ways to respond to the North Korean nuclear issue.

※ CELAC Quarteto: It consists of four countries -- former, incumbent and next chairs of CELAC, which has 33 member states from Latin America, and chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) -- and represents CELAC externally.
- The sixth foreign ministerial meeting was attended by delegates from El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Venezuela (observer).

2. Minister Kang stressed that in line with the new ROK government’s policy for diversification of diplomatic relations, it is very important to increase cooperation not only with individual Latin American countries, but with CELAC, which represents 33 Latin American countries. The Minister hoped that the sixth foreign ministerial meeting will help the ROK and CELAC continue substantive cooperation.

o The two sides shared the view that following the ROK-CELAC-ECLAC (UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) seminar in April 2016, the ROK-CELAC workshop on capacity-building of SMEs, the first project for substantive cooperation between the ROK and CELAC, was successfully held in December 2016. The two sides agreed to work to hold the second ROK-CELAC workshop under the theme “facilitating export of SMEs through e-trade” this year.

3. Minister Kang stressed that North Korea’s continued provocations in recent months, including the sixth nuclear test on September 3, are posing a security threat not only to the Korean Peninsula, but to Northeast Asia and the whole world. She expressed hope that the ROK and CELAC will expand cooperation to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, saying that the new Security Council resolution on North Korea shows the united will of the international community.

o The CELAC Quarteto agreed that North Korea’s continued violations of Security Council resolutions, including nuclear tests and missile launches, are emerging as a serious security threat to the world, and stressed that they strongly condemns them.

4. The sixth foreign ministerial meeting between the ROK and the CELAC Quarteto was the first dialogue channel with a regional consultative body in Latin America that has been put into operation since the inauguration of the new ROK government. The meeting served as an opportunity to help the chairs of CELAC, which represent 33 Latin American countries, better understand the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s sixth nuclear test, and to obtain support for the ROK’s North Korea policy, including no tolerance for a nuclear North Korea, and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

o The meeting also served as an opportunity to reaffirm the ROK’s commitment to diversifying diplomacy by facilitating communications and exchanges with Latin America, as well as CELAC’s commitment to expanding the partnership with the ROK through substantive cooperation between the two sides.


* unofficial translation