Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Mar. 4, 2014 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have three announcements to make.

First, I will announce the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s commentary on the latest developments in Ukraine.

The government of the Republic of Korea is deeply concerned over the latest developments in Ukraine and urges all the relevant parties to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution to the situation, while respecting the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and democratic advances of Ukraine.

Moving on to the second announcement, which is related to the aforementioned commentary, given the increasingly unstable situation of late in Ukraine’s Crimea region, the ROK Foreign Ministry issued a special travel alert for the region, effective from March 3.

ROK nationals planning to visit the Crimea region are advised to cancel or postpone for the time being their planned visit.

Those already staying in the region are asked to pay special heed to their safety and head to a safer area as soon as possible.

ROK nationals, in particular, are advised to refrain from visiting the region for tourism purposes.

Special travel alerts are issued for areas which have already been under Travel-alert Level 1 or 2, having the same effect as Level 3.

Ukraine had been placed under Travel-alert Level 2 (Travel Refrained) since February 21.

The special travel alert, which is tantamount to Travel-alert Level 3, will be effective in Ukraine’s Crimea region only.

Lastly, the Foreign Ministry, with the support of the Korea Gas Union, will host a symposium on building a gas trading hub in Northeast Asia at Hotel Shilla, Seoul, on March 5.

The symposium has been organized for relevant figures from major Northeast Asian countries to get together sharing information on the progress in building a gas trading hub in Northeast Asia and discussing ways to work together in that regard. Some 150 people from the ROK’s gas sector will attend the event.

For your information, the symposium will take place as part of efforts to pursue the Park Geun-hye government’s Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative.

The event is expected to serve as an opportunity to seek dialogue and cooperation on energy security, one of the issues covered under the Initiative.

This is all for my opening statement. I will now take any questions you may have.


[Q&A]

Q: Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se left the country to attend a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Were there any cases in the past where a ROK Foreign Minister made formal remarks on the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery at a UN Human Rights Council meeting?

A: I understand that it is the first such case.

Q: Please share with us briefly about the implications of the Minister raising this sexual slavery issue at the UN Human Rights Council meeting.

A: As you must be well aware, the ROK government has been dealing with this issue of military sexual slavery by Japan as an important agenda item. In this vein, it has been strongly urging the Japanese government to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Please understand the Minister’s move as part of such efforts.

Q: You have just announced a brief commentary on the situation in Ukraine. What is the ROK government’s position on Russia’s military intervention in the situation? In response to this, the US and several other countries have mentioned the possibility of imposing economic sanctions on Russia. How do you expect such moves to affect the ROK-Russia relations down the road?

A: As I have just said in my commentary, the ROK government is deeply concerned over the situation in Ukraine. Let me reiterate that it urges all the relevant parties to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution to the situation, while respecting the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and democratic advances of Ukraine.

Q: The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the US Department of State last week includes a considerable amount of content on the ROK’s domestic politics. Among the things that happened in the ROK last year, the report covers in great detail the alleged intervention of the National Intelligence Service in the latest presidential election, leak of classified documents concerning the Northern Limit Line (NLL), and problems with the government’s response to the railway workers’ strike. What is the ROK government’s position on such content?

A: The US administration submits these reports on human rights situations in countries across the world, including its allies, to Congress on an annual basis. These reports are said to be drawn up on the basis of information the US government acquires from various sources, including government agencies, NGOs and civil society.

Q: The Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan mentioned that the evidence for Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement had been fabricated, in response to which the Foreign Ministry issued a commentary. What does the ROK government make of the remarks?

A: The ROK government’s position on those remarks is contained in the commentary already announced by the Foreign Ministry, which I see no need to reiterate all over again. As the commentary says, history knows who is lying, who is deceiving people and who is whitewashing truths.

Q: I have a further question on the US State Department’s Report on Human Rights Practices. Has the ROK government explained to the State Department its position on this issue or done something of the sort?

A: I don’t know about that. I will check.

Q: I have a question regarding the sexual slavery issue. To my knowledge, the ROK government, since its days under the presidency of Mr. Roh Moo-hyun, has maintained that the Japanese government should take legal responsibility over this issue. I would like to know whether that position remains unchanged under the Park Geun-hye government. What else is the incumbent ROK government demanding that the Japanese government do? What measures does the ROK government deem that the Japanese government should take?

A: Actually, I believe that you already know the answer to your own question. The ROK government has already made its position clear to the Japanese government and the rest of the world. It urges the Japanese government to resolve the issue as soon as possible. I don’t see any need to go into each and every detail, as you must be already aware of it.

Q: Can this be construed as indicating that the ROK government’s position remains unchanged?

A: Well, you keep asking the same question. The ROK government has called on Japan to settle this issue as soon as possible and in a way that is acceptable to the victims.

Q: There was a North Korea-Japan meeting in Shenyang, China, yesterday. What does the ROK government make of this meeting? Was it briefed by the Japanese government on the meeting? Some raise concern that North Korea-Japan meetings could undermine the ROK-US-Japan coordination on the North Korean nuclear issue. What do you have to say about this view?

A: For starters, it is my understanding that the Japanese government would give us a readout on the meeting. I believe the Japanese delegation to the meeting has just returned home from China. The ROK government hails efforts to resolve bilateral humanitarian issues between North Korea and Japan .

Q: I heard that the ROK Foreign Minister will attend a UN Human Rights Council meeting. When was it decided that he will do so? Before this was decided, who was initially set to attend the meeting?

A: What is important at this point is that, as publicly informed to you via a press release, the Foreign Minister will attend a UN Human Rights Council meeting, for which he left earlier today.

Q: I have a question about Dokdo. The Japanese government cites the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Letter by Rusk as the grounds for its territorial claim to Dokdo. What is the ROK government’s position on the Letter by Rusk?

A: Dokdo is clearly an integral part of the ROK territory in terms of history, geography and international law, a fact that needs no reiterating. I see no need to answer your question about the Letter by Rusk.

I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.


* unofficial translation