1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Taeho had a telephone conversation with Mr. Nigel Adams, Minister of State (Minister for Asia) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on the afternoon of May 13 at the latter’s request and exchanged views on ways for cooperation on response to COVID-19.

° Minister of State Adams explained that the COVID-19 infection rate is showing signs of decreasing in the UK and that the UK government is planning to start subjecting all the inbound travelers to a mandatory home quarantine in the near future in order to prevent the inflow of COVID-19 from abroad. He went on to express hope to listen to experiences of the Republic of Korea, which has already been implementing a similar policy.

° Vice Minister Lee explained that, in order to minimize negative impact of COVID-19 with the door kept open, the ROK government has been implementing such measures as entry restrictions, mandatory quarantine, the tracing of movements of the infected instead of all-out restrictions on movements, thereby achieving its health-related purpose. He also underscored the need to permit entry of international travelers with urgent business or humanitarian purposes.

2. Vice Minister Lee also emphasized the need for cooperation on not only the bilateral but also global level for effective response to COVID-19. Minister of State Adams voiced hope that the ROK would continue to pay attention to international cooperation toward the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.