Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Mar. 18, 2014 14:00 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have two announcements to make.

First, at the summit meeting between the Republic of Korea and India in New Delhi, India, on January 16, 2014, the Indian government pledged to present a Bodhi tree sapling to the ROK government. Tomorrow, March 19, a presentation ceremony of the Bodhi tree sapling will take place at the Korea National Arboretum (KNA) in Gwangneung forest, Gyeonggi-do (province). The ceremony will bring together Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se and Minister of the Korea Forest Service Shin Won-sop from the ROK as well as Secretary (East) of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Anil Wadhwa and Ambassador to the ROK Vishnu Prakash from India. The event will feature celebratory remarks by distinguished guests, the presentation of the Bodhi tree sapling and the unveiling of the explanation board.

The Bodhi tree sapling carries significance as a token of the ROK-India relations that have developed to strategic partnership based on the close bilateral bond in terms of history and culture. It is also expected to help further solidify their bond.

Moving on to the second and last announcement, on March 20, the Foreign Ministry will hold a meeting on safety with Korean companies operating in the Middle East.

The Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Lee Myung-yul will preside over the meeting to be attended by some 30 people, including relevant officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the International Contractors Association of Korea and 15-odd companies operating in the Middle East. Such meetings are expected to serve as opportunities to share safety information and relevant experience with Korean companies operating in risky regions. Safety measures of companies coupled with efforts of the Foreign Ministry to better protect overseas Koreans will likely and ultimately contribute to the creation of stable jobs abroad.

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


[Q&A]

Q: Japan has reportedly decided to impose sanctions of its own on Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine. I would like to know whether the ROK government plans to join such efforts.

A: As far as I know, there is no such plan set so far.

Q: Crimeans voted in favor of independence, after which Russia stated that it would recognize the Crimean Peninsula as an independent state. What is the position of the ROK government in this regard?

A: As you must know, at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on March 15, the ROK government supported the UN Security Council resolution on Ukraine. Please take note of that.

Q: According to some press reports, the ROK government set forth to Japan three conditions for holding a summit with the country. These conditions are inheriting the Kono Statement, stopping paying tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine and putting to work high-level consultative mechanisms on the issue of sexual slavery victims drafted for Japan’s Imperial Armed Forces. Is this true?

A: The press reports you have just referred to are not true. The ROK government’s position on ROK-Japan summit meetings remains unchanged.

Q: You have just denied the veracity of the report. Could you tell us whether the ROK government has set forth no such conditions or different conditions?

Q: I well understand that you as reporters are interested in knowing specific details. But no country reveals everything that has been discussed with other countries through diplomatic channels.

A: I heard that a ROK-Russia high-level policy consultation will take place today. Will the ROK government’s position on the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea be relayed in the meeting?

A: The ROK-Russia Policy Consultation was wrapped up in the morning. I believe a luncheon was scheduled to ensue, although I am not sure whether that is over as well. As for the result of the meeting, I had no chance to check on it. One thing I can tell you, though, is that as far as I know, the Ukrainian issue was not on the agenda. Again, I have not heard about the result of the meeting in detail.

Q: China’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei is reportedly on a visit to North Korea. Did the ROK and the Chinese governments hold prior consultations on this visit? What does the ROK make of this visit? Do you think that China and North Korea will consult with each other on resuming the Six-Party Talks?

A: Yes. The ROK and China have maintained close communication on the North Korean nuclear issue, which I am sure that you are already aware of without my reiterating it right here, although I did anyway. Under such circumstances, the ROK government had prior knowledge that Special Representative Wu Dawei would probably visit North Korea. Although we have to wait until we hear about the outcome of the visit, consultations on the North Korean nuclear issue and the situation on the Korean Peninsula are expected to take place during Special Representative Wu’s visit to North Korea.

Q: You mentioned that the ROK government supported the UN Security Council resolution on Ukraine on March 15. Could you share with us in detail the content of the resolution?

A: I do not recall every detail of the resolution. To my knowledge, its content includes declaring no validity of the results of the Crimean referendum and urging the UN Member States not to recognize any alteration of the status of Crimea.

Q: Amid the prolonged stall of the Six-Party Talks, some point out that the ROK and the US appear to sit idle and have stopped making efforts toward the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue through the Six-Party Talks. Others say that the two countries seem to have different positions from that of China. I would like to know whether there are preconditions for resuming the Six-Party Talks.

A: Yes. To my understanding, the ROK government’s position on the resumption of the Six-Party Talks remains unchanged. As I understand it, the ROK, the US, Japan and other countries concerned share the position that for the Six-Party Talks to be resumed, they should have confidence that the Talks, when resumed, will produce progress.

Q: There were cases in the past where China’s high-level officials, following their visits to North Korea, visited the ROK to inform us of the outcome of their visits to the former country. I would like to know whether Special Representative Wu has offered to visit the ROK following his visit to North Korea.

A: Not that I know of.

Q: With regard to the alleged espionage case involving Yoo Woo-seong, a former civil servant of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the prosecution reportedly visited the ROK Consulate General in Shenyang and seized its computers on March 14. Is this true?

A: As I have reiterated time and again, the prosecution is conducting an investigation, and the Foreign Ministry is extending cooperation as necessary. Let me stress once again that the Foreign Ministry is voluntarily providing cooperation necessary for the investigation. In terms of the result and/or details of the investigation, it would be appropriate for the prosecution, the key party to the probe, to discuss them, which I think it is already doing.

Q: Let me ask once again regarding a possible ROK-Japan summit. The ROK government has continuously urged the Japanese government to inherit the Kono Statement, stop paying tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine and resolve the issue of sexual slavery victims drafted for Japan’s Imperial Armed Forces. Although you did not set them forth as the three key conditions for holding a bilateral summit, you did raise these three issues at the recent bilateral vice-ministerial meeting, didn’t you?

A: I didn’t quite understand your question. Could you repeat it?

Q: The ROK government has continuously urged the Japanese government to inherit the Kono Statement, stop paying tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine and resolve the issue of sexual slavery victims drafted for Japan’s Imperial Armed Forces. Although you did not set them forth as the three key conditions for holding a bilateral summit, you did call for the resolution of these three issues at the recent bilateral vice-ministerial meeting, didn’t you?

A: What I mentioned moments ago is that the press reports, which the reporter who asked the question referred to, are not true. What I also told you then is that the ROK government’s position remains unchanged.

As already reported by the press, the ROK government has already expressed the position that the Japan’s sexual enslavement of women for its military is a very grave violation of human rights and that the issue of sexual slavery victims should be settled as soon as possible and in a way that is acceptable to the victims. The ROK government has made this position widely known on a number of occasions.

With regard to a possible ROK-Japan summit you are interested in knowing about, the ROK government has made its position clear, which is that if Japan demonstrates sincere attitude and creates conditions where constructive dialogue is possible, there is no reason for the ROK not to have dialogue with the country. This is the position that the ROK government has made explicit.

To reiterate, it is the position of the ROK government that the two countries should hold dialogue that will produce constructive results, and not dialogue for the sake of dialogue.

In order to create conditions where constructive dialogue is possible, the Japanese government needs to take sincere action as soon as possible with regard to the issue of historical perception and other historical issues.

Q: Can your remarks be construed as indicating that the ROK government has not laid out or proposed to the Japanese side any preconditions for holding a ROK-Japan summit?

A: As I said a little ago, the ROK government has emphasized to the Japanese side on a number of occasions that the latter needs to take sincere action.

Q: Does “a number of occasions” include the recent bilateral meeting between the Vice Foreign Ministers?

A: This is the position that the ROK government has expressed publicly and relayed to the Japanese side: The Japanese side needs to take sincere steps.

Q: You have just mentioned that the Japanese government needs to take sincere steps. As you must be aware, Japan’s Prime Minister Abe said at the Japanese parliament last Friday that his government would basically inherit the Kono and the Murayama Statements.

Can this plan be considered a sincere step? Are other specific steps deemed necessary for the settlement of this issue of sexual slavery victims? If so, what are they?

A: With regard to Prime Minister Abe’s remarks at the parliamentary interpellation session, I understand that the ROK government has already and publicly expressed its position.

What the ROK government means by sincere steps is steps for resolving the issue of sexual slavery victims drafted for Japan’s Imperial Armed Forces.

Q: I have a further question. In terms of sincere steps referred to by the ROK government, does the Japanese government also need to propose ways that would lead to the resolution of the issue of sexual slavery victims?

A: Could you repeat your question more clearly?

Q: You have just mentioned that it is the position of the ROK government that the Japanese side needs to take sincere steps. Does that mean that the Japanese government also needs to propose new ways and/or express its determination to settle the issue of sexual slavery victims?

A: A mere non-revision of the Kono Statement will not solve the issue, don’t you think? The ROK government has ceaselessly stressed that in order to solve the issue, sincere and specific steps are necessary.

Q: You have just mentioned that the Japanese side needs to take sincere steps for a ROK-Japan summit to materialize and to settle the issue of sexual slavery victims. Can this be construed as indicating that there would be no ROK-Japan summit until the issue of sexual slavery victims is resolved?

A: Let me answer your question by reiterating what I have just said: Sincere steps are necessary.

Q: Does President Park Geun-hye have a plan to hold summit meetings with her counterparts from China and/or other countries on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in The Hague?

A: Let me check on that, as I have no idea at this point.

As for the President’s schedule during the NSS and during her visits to other countries, I expect the relevant authorities to make an announcement at an appropriate time.

Q: According to a report yesterday by some media outlet, the ROK and Japan would start working-level consultations this week on a bilateral summit possibly to take place on the sidelines of the NSS in The Hague.

A: The ROK and Japan would what?

Q: The two countries would start working-level consultations this week.

A: Working-level consultations for what?

Q: I am talking about consultations on a bilateral summit between President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe possibly to take place on the sidelines of the NSS in The Hague.

A: I have heard nothing about it.

If you have no further questions, I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.


* unofficial translation