1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha hosted a reception for foreign diplomats to the Republic of Korea at her official residence on May 3 to brief them on the outcome of the 2018 inter-Korean summit talks.

° The event started out with welcoming remarks by the Minister, followed by remarks by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the ROK, a briefing on the outcome of the inter-Korean summit talks by Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon, a question-and-answer session and lastly a reception.

° The event brought together 114 diplomats from 105 foreign diplomatic missions and 9 international organizations in the ROK.

2. In her welcoming remarks, Minister Kang shared with the foreign diplomats the process from the announcement of the Berlin Initiative in July 2017 to the decision to hold the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summit talks; extended appreciation to foreign countries for their support in the process; and asked them to remain supportive of such endeavors.

° In his remarks in response to the Minister’s, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the ROK mentioned that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics had paved the way for inter-Korean dialogue; offered congratulations to the ROK on the success of the recent inter-Korean summit meeting; forecast that the success of the inter-Korean summit meeting would lead to the success of the forthcoming US-North Korea summit talks; and voiced expectation for a thorough implementation of the “Panmunjeom Declaration.”

3. The event is seen to have served as an opportunity to brief foreign diplomats to the ROK on the outcome and significance of the inter-Korean summit talks and thereby to have helped to enhance the international community’s understanding on and win its support for the ROK government’s efforts to achieve denuclearization and a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

* unofficial translation