1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with Governor Eric Greitens of the US state of Missouri on September 29. In their meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the Republic of Korea-United States relations; nuclear and other issues of North Korea; and ways to step up substantive cooperation between the ROK and Missouri in economy and other sectors.

2. Minister Kang expressed pleasure over the fact that the ROK and Missouri, whose some 47,000 troops had fought alongside the ROK in the Korean War, have developed their relations based on their strong bond. She also noted with appreciation that substantive cooperation between the country and the state in economy and other sectors is growing, as can be seen from the conclusion of “the memorandum of understanding on cooperation among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)” by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the state of Missouri during the Governor’s visit to the ROK.

° Governor Greitens, underscoring the high importance of the partnership with the ROK, Missouri’s No. 4 export destination and 13th-largest importer, pointed out that for agriculture-driven Missouri, it is very important to keep the ROK-US FTA in place. He added that he will play an active role for the bilateral FTA to gain a broader support in the US.

3. Minister Kang pointed out that under the current circumstances where the series of North Korean provocations is exacerbating tensions in the region, the ROK and the US are coordinating closely with each other for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, enforcing sanctions and putting pressure on the North as well as beefing up deterrence against it in a bid to induce it to denuclearization talks. She went on to ask the Governor to pay attention to and support the efforts to strengthen the ROK-US alliance and to establish peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

° Governor Greitens, bringing attention to the fact that being a member of the Council of Governors, he meets with foreign affairs and security officials of the federal government on a regular basis, asked whether the ROK government had any message pertaining to the ROK-US alliance that it wanted relayed to the US. In response, Minister Kang highlighted the bilateral alliance as a mutually beneficial one that contributes to the diffusion of such common values as democracy and market economy and acts as a linchpin for stability and peace in the region.

4. The meeting between Minister Kang and Missouri Governor Greitens is seen to have served as a good opportunity to win the Missouri government’s support for the efforts to develop the ROK-US alliance and to seek ways to increase substantive cooperation between the ROK and Missouri State in economy and other sectors.


* unofficial translation