1. Director-General for European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jung Ki-hong, together with Director of the Asia Pacific Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland Tim Mawe, held the 2nd Republic of Korea-Ireland policy consultation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seoul, on November 14. In the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to enhance the relations and substantive cooperation between the two countries; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe; and ways to work together on the international stage.

2. The two sides shared the view that Prime Minster Lee Nak-yon’s visit to Ireland in May, the first of its kind by an ROK Prime Minister in 28 years, had served as an opportunity to take the bilateral relations to the next level; and agreed to further step up substantive cooperation on the basis of historical and economic similarities between the two countries.

° Director-General Jung called the exchanges between young generations of the two countries an important asset in terms of promoting the bilateral friendship and cooperation; noted with appreciation that by expanding in 2017 the annual quota of participants in the bilateral working holiday program, the two countries had paved the way for more robust people-to-people exchanges; and asked for the Irish government’s attention to and support for bids of young Korean chefs to further expand their presence in Ireland, an issue currently under discussion.

※ Amid the great popularity of the ROK-Ireland working holiday program since its start in 2010, as demonstrated by the previous annual quota of 400 having been fully fulfilled every year, the quota for program participants was increased in 2017 to 600 from the previous 400.

° Director Mawe, taking note of the constant growths in the bilateral trade and investment volumes, suggested that the two countries continue expanding their cooperative ties in a mutually beneficial way.

° Director-General Jung noted with appreciation the addition in September 2018 of the Korean language to the curriculum of the first-year high school students in Ireland, adding that the two countries had great potential for cooperation in the education sector. He went on to ask for the Irish government’s attention to and cooperation for the work on the establishment of a Trinity College campus in Sejong City, which is currently under discussion, to move smoothly forward.

3. Director-General Jung shared with his Irish counterpart the recent progress in the inter-Korean relations, adding that Northern Ireland’s peace-building experiences could serve as reference in the course of the ROK's efforts to build a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Director Mawe, commending the ROK government’s efforts to achieve denuclearization and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, reaffirmed unswerving support of the Irish government in this regard.

4. The two sides exchanged views on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the EU (Brexit), which is scheduled to take place in March 2019, and agreed to work closely together to continuously expand the ROK-Ireland trade ties even after Brexit.

* unofficial translation