1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho met with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Mohamed Khiari of the United Nations (UN) in New York on Wednesday, October 30. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on key global issues such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, climate change and peacebuilding.

○ Vice Minister Lee helped enhance the UN senior officials’ understanding of the initiative proposed by the government of the Republic of Korea to transform the Demilitarized Zone into an international peace zone, and asked for the UN and the international community’s continued interest in and active support for the initiative.

○ In addition, Vice Minister Lee introduced the ROK’s efforts to implement climate actions including holding the 2^nd Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in 2020 and plans for doubling its contribution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

○ Vice Minister Lee noted the UN’s efforts to further strengthen the “Peace and Development” nexus, expressed support for the UN development system reform actively pursued by Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed, and explained that the ROK government will continue to increase contribution in the area of peacebuilding.

○ Vice Minister Lee asked for the UN’s special interest in the ROK nationals’ presence in international organizations, and reaffirmed the ROK’s willingness to fully implement its obligations and continue to increase contribution to addressing current global issues.

2. The UN Secretariat reaffirmed its support for the Korean Peninsula peace process, took note of the ROK’s leading role in the areas of women, peace and security, climate change and peacebuilding, and agreed to communicate closely and cooperate with the ROK to address current global issues.