1. On September 18, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met with a delegation from the Japan-Korea Cultural Foundation (the head of the delegation: chair of the Foundation’s board of directors Masaki Ono), which has sought to boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the private sectors of the Republic of Korea and Japan. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on ways to increase exchanges between the two countries, including youth exchanges and cooperation on public diplomacy.

2. Vice Minister Cho commended the Foundation's activities over about 30 years since its founding in 1983, including some 1,300 exchange projects, such as those for youths and college students as well as fellowships for Korean intellectuals; and asked the organization to continue activities designed to boost private exchanges.

° In particular, with the year 2018 marking the 20^th anniversary of the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration (October 8), the Vice Minister voiced hope that various substantive cooperation projects between the two countries will be focused on exchanges between young, future leaders of the two countries, asking for much attention and support of the Foundation in that regard.

° In addition, with regard to the expansion of young Koreans' job opportunities in Japan, -- a good model of win-win cooperation between the ROK and Japan and a catalyst for advances in the bilateral relations -- Vice Minister Cho asked the Foundation to continue to pay attention and render cooperation.

° The chair added that recognizing the high importance of exchanges between the two countries’ future generations for the advancement of the bilateral relations, the Foundation will seek to carry out an increased number of related exchange projects.

4. Vice Minister Cho expressed hope that the Moon Jae-in government’s third summit with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which was currently underway, will create a new breakthrough toward complete denuclearization and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula; and that the Japanese side will continue to pay much attention and render cooperation during relevant inter-Korean negotiations to continue down the road.

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to pay attention to and cooperate on the Japan-Korea Cultural Foundation’s activities, including exchanges between younger generations and view-sharing programs for intellectuals of the ROK and Japan, designed to raise mutual understanding between people of the two countries and promote friendship and cooperation between the two.

* unofficial translation