1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu, together with Assistant Deputy Minister for Asia Pacific Donald Bobiash of Global Affairs Canada, held the fourth Republic of Korea-Canada strategic dialogue in Ottawa, Canada, on January 31. In their meeting, the two senior diplomats exchanged a wide range of views on situations on the Korean Peninsula and in other regions of the world, ways to step up ROK-Canada substantive cooperation, and global issues.

※ The ROK has been holding the deputy foreign minister-level strategic dialogue with Canada on a regular basis since 2014, when the two countries forged “strategic partnership.”

2. Deputy Minister Yoon and Assistant Deputy Minister Bobiash noted with appreciation that the ROK and Canada have been seeing their substantive cooperation increase in diverse areas, including economy, trade, science, technology and Arctic affairs, on the back of robust high-level exchanges and such institutional frameworks as the bilateral FTA and the bilateral agreement for cooperation on science, technology and innovation.

° The two sides shared the view that Canadian Governor-General Julie Payette’s visit to the ROK during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will contribute to the efforts to enhance the bond between the ROK and Canada.

※ The recent cases of high-level exchanges between the two countries

- The summit talks on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in July 2017 and the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Awards ceremony in September 2017

- The foreign ministerial meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum session in August 2017, the APEC meeting in November 2017, and the Vancouver Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula in January 2018

- Governor-General Julie Payette’s planned visit to the ROK during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018

3. Deputy Minister Yoon extended appreciation to the Canadian government for playing a constructive role on the North Korean nuclear issue, including by co-hosting “the Vancouver Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula” on January 16, 2018, and adopting a balanced co-chairs’ summary at the Vancouver event.

° The two sides exchanged views on the progress in the recent inter-Korean talks and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, agreeing to remain in close coordination with each other on the North Korean nuclear issue.

4. The two sides affirmed that the two like-minded countries with shared values have great potential for cooperation on the international stage on such major global issues as development cooperation, climate change, cyber security and humanitarian assistance. They agreed to work more closely together in these fields.

5. The fourth ROK-Canada strategic dialogue served as a good opportunity to step up substantive bilateral cooperation as well as bilateral communication on the North Korean nuclear program and other regional and domestic issues. As such, it is expected to contribute to cementing the strategic partnership between the ROK and Canada.

* unofficial translation