1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yoon Soon-gu held the 5th Republic of Korea-Australia Strategic Dialogue with Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia Richard Maude in Canberra, Australia, on July 18, and shared the view that the two countries were cooperating in a range of areas, including political and economic affairs, and people-to-people exchanges, based on the fundamental values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

2. Deputy Minister Yoon took note of the results of the two inter-Korean summits and the US-North Korea summit, and explained the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including developments in follow-up negotiations between the US and North Korea. He also stressed the importance of cooperation from major cooperation partners in the region, including Australia, to achieve tangible results in the follow-up negotiations to be held going forward.

o Deputy Secretary Maude hoped that the Panmunjeom Declaration and the US-North Korea Joint Statement would be implemented as soon as possible, and said that Australia would continue to support the ROK government’s efforts to make progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a lasting peace regime.

3. The two sides noted that the two countries, as like-minded countries, had closely worked together on the global stage, including MIKTA, the ARF, APEC, and the G20, and agreed to continue closer cooperation.

o The two sides also hoped that they would seek to create synergy between the ROK’s New Southern Policy and Australia's Indo-Pacific Policy.

※ Deputy Secretary Maude was in charge of the publication of Australia’s 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, which provided an account of the country’s Indo-Pacific Policy. He took up the post of Deputy Secretary of the Indo-Pacific Group, which was created after the release of the white paper.

4. Following the 4th Strategic Dialogue last year, the 5th Strategic Dialogue served as an opportunity to share the two countries’ positions on the Korean Peninsula, and regional situations, and to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the ROK and Australia.

※ 4th ROK-Australia Strategic Dialogue (April 2017, Canberra)

* unofficial translation