1. On September 9, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha attended in her capacity as Co-chair the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held at 19:40-21:00, Korea Standard Time, in the wake of the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. In the Meeting, the foreign ministers reviewed the progress in the implementation of the follow-up measures of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit held in November 2019 and exchanged in-depth views on ways for future cooperation between ASEAN and the ROK, including in political affairs and security, economy, and people-to-people exchanges, as well as on regional and global affairs.

2. In her opening remarks following those by the Minister of Brunei Darussalam, the country coordinator for ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations, Minister Kang noted with appreciation that ASEAN and the ROK have steadily expanded the scope and depth of cooperation in diverse areas since establishing dialogue partnership in 1989. She expressed confidence that, if ASEAN and the ROK continue cooperation pursuant to “the ASEAN-ROK Joint Vision Statement for Peace, Prosperity and Partnership” adopted at the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in 2019, the bilateral relations will be elevated to a higher level.

3. Minister Kang stressed that, with this year marking the 10^th anniversary of the establishment of the ASEAN-ROK Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, the two sides should faithfully implement the commitments made by the leaders at the Commemorative Summit in 2019 in order to further deepen cooperation across the board, including political, economic and social affairs.

° The Minister took note that, despite the circumstances in which regional cooperation could be dampened by the unexpected the COVID-19 pandemic, the ROK and ASEAN member states have further enhanced cooperation in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation.

° In this context, the Minister mentioned that, in a bid to further broaden the scope of cooperation with ASEAN, the ROK government is seeking new ways for cooperation, including the launch of a cooperation initiative between the ROK and maritime Southeast Asia in addition to the existing one between the ROK and Mekong, which is a small regional cooperative mechanism.

4. With regard to non-traditional security threats, Minister Kang mentioned the need to continue cooperation between the ROK and ASEAN on terrorism and violent extremism, transnational crimes, and climate change and environmental issues, even in the situation where response to COVID-19 is a priority, and explained the contributions the ROK has made in those areas.

° The Minister noted that the ROK and ASEAN had launched the bilateral Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime during the Commemorative Summit in 2019, establishing a regime for joint response. She went on to voice hope that constructive discussions would continue at the next Meeting.

° Considering that the marine debris issue has emerged as a significant security issue that endangers people’s safety, the Minister said that active assistance is being rendered to ASEAN to strengthen its capacity for marine debris management.

5. Minister Kang noted that, in overcoming the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19, it is of paramount importance to restore free trade and multilateralism and to step up cooperation on digital economy.

° The Minister underscored the need to strengthen economic resilience by maintaining the flow of supply chains, ensuring essential movement of people, and signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2020 and thereby restoring the liberal trade environment.

° The Minister noted with appreciation that, amid the steady growth of the importance of digital economy, such as the online and non-face-to-face environment, relevant agencies of the ROK and ASEAN had drawn up an ASEAN-ROK Startup Policy Roadmap mainly for small-scale, innovative startups, a significant foundation of digital economy, and had started bilateral research on startup ecosystem.

° In response, the ASEAN side stressed that, as negative impact of COVID-19 on economy and society is growing overall, it is ever more necessary to maintain connectivity based on strong solidarity and cooperation. It went on to commend the ROK government for increasing contribution through participation in the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025) and the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN).

6. Minister Kang expressed hope that the launch of large-scale, meaningful projects, such as the Technical Vocational Education and Training program, the project designed to build ASEAN’s capacity for disaster risk reduction, and the scholarship program for university faculty, in 2020 after expanding the “ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund” for ASEAN-ROK cooperation projects to an annual 14 million U.S. dollars last year would contribute to building ASEAN’s capacity in those areas.

7. Concerning the New Southern Policy, which the ROK government has been implementing over the last three years, Minister Kang mentioned that the ROK government is seeking to advance the Policy in a way that reflects the shifted policy environment due to the COVID-19 crisis and ASEAN’s demand for cooperation in new areas. She added that, through such efforts, the ASEAN-ROK cooperative relations will expand and deepen in a more mutually beneficial way. 

° In response, the ASEAN countries highly commended the ROK government for considering ASEAN as a significant, strategic partner and making consistent efforts to reinforce cooperation tailored to ASEAN’s needs since announcing the New Southern Policy about two years ago. They went on to express hope to further promote the cooperation.

8. The participants in the Meeting also exchanged views on key regional issues. Regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Kang reiterated her appreciation to ASEAN for supporting the ROK government’s initiatives to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, which includes “the three principles in the course of resolving issues related to the Korean Peninsula” presented by President Moon Jae-in at the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in 2019. She also urged ASEAN to continue to play a constructive role in advancing the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

° The Minister also stressed that dialogue is the only viable option for realizing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. She explained the ROK government’s efforts, including a number of inter-Korean cooperation projects in order to make a breakthrough under the current difficult situation and called for ASEAN member states’ support and cooperation.

° The ASEAN countries highlighted the need to resume dialogue between the parties concerned in order to achieve denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. They expressed support for the ROK government’s efforts to advance the inter-Korean relations and realize peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, including inter-Korean cooperation projects in the fields of epidemic prevention and control, healthcare and medical services, forestry, and agricultural technology as well as the ROK’s initiative, the transformation of the DMZ into an international peace zone. The Ministers added that they will continue their efforts to contribute to dialogue and communication with North Korea through ASEAN-led regional consultative platforms, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum.

° With regard to the South China Sea issue, the participants in the Meeting agreed on the need to refrain from provocative actions in order to bring stability and peace in the region.

9. At the ASEAN-ROK Meeting, Minister Kang stressed that the ROK’s candidate for World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General -- Minister for Trade Yoo Myung-Hee -- is the right person for the position who has experiences and capacity to strengthen free trade and restore multilateralism, asking for the ASEAN countries’ support.

10. The ASEAN-ROK Plan of Action for the years 2021-2025 was adopted at the Meeting.

° The participating countries expressed hope that, as the ASEAN-ROK Plan of Action for the years 2021-2025 sets forth ways for future sectoral cooperation between the ROK and ASEAN for the next five years, the two sides would promote cooperation across the board and mutual solidarity through faithful implementation of the Plan.

11. The ROK government will continue efforts to step up cooperation with the ASEAN member states in the full range of sectors and to develop the ASEAN-ROK Strategic Partnership by reflecting the outcome of the Meeting in the process of upgrading its New Southern Policy.