1. On the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings 2018 in Singapore from July 31 till August 4, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met bilaterally with Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith of Laos on August 1. In the meeting, the two top diplomats exchanged views on ways to help Loas recover from the accident at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower dam; ways to step up the Republic of Korea-ASEAN cooperation and the ROK-Laos relations; and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula.

2. Minister Kang once again offered consolation over the dam accident in the Laotian province of Attepeu on July 23 that had left many displaced and caused flood damage. She voiced hope that the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) dispatched to Laos, the relief supplies and other forms of humanitarian assistance provided by the ROK to the country over the weekend following her telephone conversation with the Lao Foreign Minister on July 27 would help Laos recover from damage as soon as possible.

※ In her telephone conversation with the Lao Foreign Minister on July 27, Minister Kang extended consolation over the dam accident and informed him of the ROK government’s plan for humanitarian assistance to Laos. On July 28, relief supplies from the ROK were transported to the country, followed by the dispatch of the KDRT on July 29.

° Minister Saleumxay extended appreciation to President Moon Jae-in for warm sympathy and humanitarian assistance offered to Laos on the heels of the accident, adding that the ROK government and people standing by the Lao government and people as the latter sought to overcome the difficult situation would console them and help them restore stability in their lives and recover from damage as soon as possible. 

3. Minister Kang, bringing attention to the ROK government’s vigorous efforts to implement its “New Southern Policy” designed to remarkably enhance its relations with ASEAN, expressed hope that as called for by the New Southern Policy, the ROK’s relations would continue to tighten with Laos, a landlocked country at the center of the Indochinese Peninsula and with a potential to develop into the Peninsula’s logistics hub.

° Minister Saleumxay, hailing the ROK government’s New Southern Policy, suggested that the two countries seek to enhance relations across the board, including high-level exchanges and development.

4. Minister Kang shared with her Lao counterpart the ROK government’s recent efforts to spearhead progress in the situation on the Korean Peninsula and their results, including the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summit talks. She went on to express hope that Laos and the other ASEAN member states would contribute constructively to the efforts, in consultation with related countries, to achieve progress toward a complete denuclearization of North Korea and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

° Minister Saleumxay stated that going forward, Laos would remain supportive of the ROK government’s bids to seek progress toward denuclearization and to improve its relations with North Korea.