1. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam met with Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Michèle Flournoy and its delegation of future security experts on November 16, and exchanged views on the ROK-US alliance and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the North Korean nuclear issue.

2. Vice Minister Lim said that now is a very important time for the security of the Korean Peninsula, and explained that cooperation to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, the biggest security issue facing not only the Korean Peninsula, but the region, is underway in a range of areas at the highest level, including the ROK-US and ROK-China summit meetings, and a series of summit-level diplomatic engagement among countries concerned.

o Vice Minister Lim especially said that President Trump’s state visit to the ROK last week served as an opportunity to reaffirm the strength of the ROK-US alliance and the ironclad cooperation between the two countries on their approach to North Korea. He also asked for active support from the future security experts to further advance the ROK-US alliance.

3. The delegation from the CNAS showed a keen interest in the results of President Trump’s state visit to the ROK; North Korea and its nuclear issue; and the situation in the region. Vice Minister Lim explained the ROK government’s basic positions on them. Chief Executive Officer Flournoy said that the members of the delegation are experts who will play a central role in foreign and security affairs in the US for the next several decades, and that their meeting with Vice Minister Lim really helped them better understand the situation on the Korean Peninsula.


* unofficial translation