Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 2, 2012 14:30 KST

Good afternoon. Did you all enjoy Chuseok?

Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have one announcement to make.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han will attend the Conference on Cyberspace in Budapest, Hungary, on October 4 and 5.

For your information, the Conference on Cyberspace is an international meeting on political, economic and social issues related to cyberspace.

The forthcoming meeting will bring together delegates from governments of 60-odd countries and ten international organizations as well as civilian experts.

At the Conference, Vice Minister Kim will deliver a keynote speech to explain the position of the Government of the Republic of Korea with regard to building a safe and reliable cyberspace.

In addition, he will discuss the ROK’s plan for next year’s Conference, as the country is set to host it in Seoul. 

On the sidelines of the Conference, Vice Minister Kim will pay a courtesy call on Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi to discuss cooperation measures between their two countries.

He will also meet with Korean businesspeople working in Hungary and have interviews with local media outlets.

The Vice Minister will then visit the Czech Republic on October 5, where he will meet with the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Galuska to discuss key bilateral issues and other matters of mutual concern.

This is all for my opening statement.

[Q&A]

Q: I would like to know what the ROK government makes of the remarks by North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil-yon at the UN General Assembly session. At the UN General Assembly, North Korea blatantly put the blame on the ROK government for the shattered inter-Korean relations, perhaps because the current ROK administration is due to end soon. What is the ROK government’s view of this criticism?

A: You can easily see that my government cannot agree with the latest remarks by North Korea. We hope that North Korean authorities will sincerely implement policies aimed to improve the living conditions of its people and suspend its nuclear development programs.

And we hope that North Korea, on that basis, will hold dialogue with the ROK on a path conducive to inter-Korean relations.  

Q: These remarks were made at the UN General Assembly session. Do you deem it feasible for the ROK delegates to the session to refute the remarks at the UN?

A: I will check on that.

Q: I heard that the issue of military sexual slavery victims would be raised in a 3rd Committee meeting in a more explicit manner. Please tell us when and specifically how it will be done.

Also, I understand that countries concerned, including North Korea, are paying attention to this issue of military sexual slavery victims. Has there been or is there no chance of working with North Korea on this?

A: The 3rd Committee meeting of the UN General Assembly will take place in October. As you may be aware, the ROK government raised the issue of military sexual slavery victims last year through the remarks by the ROK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN. We are actively considering raising it again this year.

As for possible cooperation with North Korea you have just mentioned, I understand that North Korea has taken a stern stance on the issue. We also took such a stance last year and have voiced it on various appropriate occasions, such as the UN’s 3rd Committee meetings.

Q: Could you specify the timeframe of the meeting? To my knowledge, the 3rd Committee meeting lasts just one day. When and for how long will it take place this year?

A: It is hard to specify the exact timeframe.

Each 3rd Committee session takes place for a long period of time. And as the meeting deals with multiple agenda topics, it is hard to pin down when the issue will be discussed.

I will check when and for how long the 3rd Committee will be convened.

Thank you.

* unofficial translation