Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Noh Kwang-il
Apr. 16, 2015 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have two announcements to make.

First, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, in his capacity as government delegate of the Republic of Korea, will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia 2015 scheduled to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, from April 19 through 21.

On April 20, the Vice Minister will attend as a panelist a public debate session themed “Mapping the Geo-economic Landscape” to assess the current geopolitical and geoeconomic situations in East Asia and to explain the ROK government’s diplomatic efforts to address them.

For your information, the WEF holds this meeting on East Asia on an annual basis.

The forthcoming meeting will bring together the President of Indonesia, the Prime Minister of Cambodia and other high-level government officials as well as those from academic circles and think tanks, journalists and businesspeople for discussions on ways for the region to play a role in “Anchoring Trust in East Asia's New Regionalism.”

Moving on to the second and last announcement, the third ROK-Latvia Policy Consultation will take place in Seoul on April 20, with First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yong and his Latvian counterpart Andrejs Pildegovics leading their respective delegations.

In the meeting, the two sides will exchange views on a wide range of matters, including ways to promote bilateral relations, such as through high-level exchanges; ways to step up substantive cooperation on aviation and education; ways for the ROK and the EU to work together; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia; and global issues.

The upcoming Policy Consultation is expected to serve as an opportunity to enhance friendly and cooperative ties with Latvia, the EU chair for the first semester of the year 2015, and to build a network for stronger cooperation with the EU.

This is all for my opening statement.


[Q&A]

Q: To my knowledge, an ROK-US-Japan vice foreign ministerial meeting will take place in a few hours. According to a number of press reports by Yonhap News Agency and other media outlets, the ROK delegation will make a strong appeal to the Japanese side with regard to such long-standing issues as those concerning history. What preparations has the ROK Foreign Ministry made for today’s meeting?

A: There will be an ROK-US-Japan vice foreign ministerial meeting, followed by an ROK-Japan and an ROK-US meeting. The trilateral meeting is expected to cover an extensive range of matters of common interest, including regional and global issues. In terms of historical issues between the ROK and Japan, as Vice Minister Cho has mentioned, the ROK delegation is expected to clearly and strongly state the ROK’s position on those issues.

Q: After his return home, Tatsuya Kato, former chief of Sankei Shimbun’s Seoul bureau, reportedly met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Some call it a rare thing (for the Prime Minister) to meet with someone whose trial is still under way. What does the ROK government make of the situation?

A: I will not make any particular comments in that regard. I think that you should make a judgment from a common-sense point of view.

Q: The ROK Foreign Minister is on a visit to the Netherlands, while the President is on a Latin America tour. Will the Foreign Minister join the President in Latin America or just return home after completing his work in the Netherlands?

A: As you may recall, the ROK was the host country of the Global Conference on Cyberspace (GCC) 2013. It is a practice for the troika -- the previous, current and next chairs of the GCC -- to attend GCCs. Given the importance of cyberspace issues and the need to deliver the ROK’s position on them, the Foreign Minister will first attend the GCC in the Netherlands and then join the President on her Latin America tour, although he will probably not be able to accompany the President to Colombia, the first leg of her tour, due to a time conflict.

Q: So, the Foreign Minister will accompany the President on her entire visit to Latin American countries except for Colombia, right?

A: Right. I will check and let you know exactly when the Foreign Minister will arrive and join the President in Latin America, although he might join her in Colombia. Anyway, he will accompany the President on her entire trip to Latin America once he arrives there. Again, I will double-check when and where the Minister will join the President and let you know.


* unofficial translation