1. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam paid a courtesycall on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on January 18, New York time,during which the senior diplomat informed the UN leader of the progress in therecent inter-Korean talks and the Republic of Korea government’s efforts to usethe PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as an opportunity tobuild peace on the Korean Peninsula.

2. Vice Minister Lim, calling North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang sporting event and relevant inter-Korean talksa significant opportunity for alleviating tensions and achieving denuclearizationon the Korean Peninsula, asked for the Secretary-General’s continued attentionto the efforts to render the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic WinterGames “Olympics of peace” that can contribute to the reconciliation and the establishmentof peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

°Secretary-General Guterres, commending the ROK government and expressingsupport for all its efforts to achieve the shared international goal of the denuclearizationof the Korean Peninsula, stated that the UN will do everything it can to helpmove forward meaningful dialogue with North Korea.

3. Vice Minister Lim, welcoming the Secretary-General’splan to visit the ROK during the PyeongChang Olympics, stressed that the ROKgovernment, based on its enhanced standing in the international community, willcontinue communication with the UN to prevent conflicts and build peace in theinternational community.

4. Vice Minister Lim held a live interview with the “Amanpour”show of CNN, an American media outlet, in which he spoke about the progress inthe recent inter-Korean talks and actively promoted the ROK government’sefforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. He also met with DanielRussel, Senior Fellow of the Asia Society and former Assistant Secretary ofState for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; former US Ambassador to JapanCaroline Kennedy; President Thomas Bayne of the Korea Society. In the meeting,he sought to raise the US academia’s awareness and understanding on the currentsituation on the Korean Peninsula and asked them to continually play a constructive,bridging role in the public diplomacy efforts to promote mutual understandingand cooperation between the nationals of the ROK and the US.  

※ Theaforementioned interview is available for viewing (in some areas only for now) atthe following web address:

http://www.pbs.org/video/amanpour-ash-carter-and-lim-sung-nam-uyhvg0/

* unofficial translation