1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho attended the 15^th “Korea-Japan Festival in Seoul” event on September 1.

2. In his congratulatory remarks, Vice Minister Lee noted that the Republic of Korea and Japan have a history of wisely overcoming and working together whenever faced with difficulties. He stressed that long-running exchanges and mutual understanding between the private sectors of the two countries have made this possible. 

° In this context, the Vice Minister, recalling the spirit of the “Kim-Obuchi Joint Declaration,” emphasized that practical and necessary cooperation between the ROK and Japan should continue to move forward, and urged the two countries to overcome pending issues in a more mature way and to resolve challenges through dialogue and consultation as they arise.

3. Prior to the opening ceremony, Vice Minister Lee had conversations with prominent guests, including Sohn Kyung-shik and Mikio Sasaki, respective heads of the ROK and Japanese festival committees, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Norikazu Suzuki, and Japanese Ambassador to the ROK Yasumasa Nagamine. They exchanged views on bilateral issues, including cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

° Parliamentary Vice-Minister Suzuki conveyed Japan’s position on the ROK-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the ROK Supreme Court’s ruling on the victims of forced labor. In response, Vice Minister Lee mentioned that as the Japanese government had removed the ROK from its so-called Whitelist for security reasons, it does not meet national interests of the ROK to maintain GSOMIA, which was concluded to exchange security-sensitive military information.

° Vice Minister Lee also conveyed the ROK government’s strong regret over the inappropriate export-restrictive measures imposed by Japan and called for their prompt withdrawal.

° Vice Minister Lee and Parliamentary Vice-Minister Suzuki agreed on the need to continue communication and consultations between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries in order to resolve various issues, as well as on the importance of people-to-people exchanges for the stable development of the ROK-Japan relations.

4. The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs will carry out a variety of public diplomacy activities to provide people of the ROK and Japan with opportunities to experience various aspects of each other’s cultures and to build friendship.