1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Yoon Soon-gu held the fourth ROK-Visegrad Meeting of Deputy Ministers for Political Affairs with his counterparts from the four member countries of the Visegrad Group (V4) in Budapest, Hungary, on December 14, and engaged in an extensive exchange of views on issues of mutual interest, including cooperation between the ROK and the V4, and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe.

※ The ROK government has held the Meeting of Deputy Ministers for Political Affairs every year since it established a cooperative mechanism with the Visegrad Group in 2014.

※ Visegrad Group (V4): Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary

※ Heads of the delegations of the V4
- Hungary (President of the V4 from the second half of 2017 until the first half of 2018): Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Benko
- Poland: Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Witold Sobkow
- Slovakia: Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Jakubocy
- Czech Republic: Director of the EU Common Foreign & Security Policy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Katerina Sequensova

2. Deputy Minister Yoon took note that the ROK-V4 cooperative mechanism has been firmly established in a short period of time through the ROK-V4 meeting of deputy ministers for political affairs, which has taken place every year since 2014, and that the ROK and the V4 are expanding various forms of cooperation, including the ROK-V4 Vice Defense Ministers’ Meeting, a seminar to share transition experiences, joint research projects, and a cultural exchange camp for the next generation. He also offered to further deepen the cooperative relations between the two sides.

o The representatives of the V4 shared the view that cooperation with the ROK is useful for them, and spoke highly of the ROK’s contributions to the ROK-V4 project to share economic development experiences, as well as the Visegrad Fund.

o Hungary, which holds the Presidency of the V4, invited the ROK to think.BDPST, an international conference on technological innovation to be held in Budapest in March next year, as the guest of honor, and expressed hope that the two sides will expand their cooperation to include the area of technological innovation.

3. Deputy Minister Yoon talked about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and the ROK’s North Korea policy. He also asked the V4 countries for close cooperation on North Korea, as well as interest and support regarding the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games to make sure that the Olympics contributes to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

o The V4 side said that the North Korean nuclear issue is not only a security issue in Northeast Asia, but a serious one that threatens global security. The V4 side also said that they will not only help the ROK achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully, but also make related efforts within the EU.

4. The V4 side expressed their positions on the refugee issue in Europe, NATO and transatlantic security issues, the situation in Ukraine, Syria and other issues in the Middle East.

5. The meeting of Deputy Ministers for Political Affairs is expected to help the ROK and the V4, a major regional consultative mechanism in Central Europe, better understand each other’s foreign policy directions through regular political dialogue, and strengthen cooperation between the two sides on the North Korean nuclear issue and other global security issues.


* unofficial translation