Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Noh Kyu-duk

April 24, 2018  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

First, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon met with Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Kenji Kanasugi yesterday, and with US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton today.

In the meetings, Special Representative Lee shared how preparations for the inter-Korean summit scheduled for April 27 are going, and engaged in in-depth discussions on ways to successfully hold the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits, and thereby to make tangible progress in the North Korean nuclear issue.

The consultations served as a meaningful opportunity to reaffirm commitment to close cooperation between the ROK and the US, and the ROK and Japan, as well as further strengthen communications and cooperation between the diplomatic authorities of the ROK and the US, and the ROK and Japan, to successfully hold the two summits, and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish a lasting peace on the Peninsula.

Moving on to the next topic, Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will meet with former US Ambassador to the ROK Alexander Vershbow on April 25, and with Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute Daniel Russel on April 26.

In the meetings, Vice Minister Lim will exchange views on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, and major global issues.

Lastly, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet with Executive Director of the Global Fund Peter Sands at the Foreign Ministry on April 25.

The Global Fund is the world’s largest public-private cooperation fund dedicated to raising resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The ROK has supported the Global Fund since 2004. In the upcoming meeting, the two sides will discuss cooperative relations between the ROK and the Global Fund, and the ROK’s bid for a seat on the Global Fund Board.

This is all for my opening statement. I will take your questions.

[Q&A]

Q: Regarding the vehicle-ramming incident in Toronto, Koreans are reportedly among those who died. Please tell us if there is any further information you have regarding this.

A: The ROK Consulate-General in Toronto quickly dispatched relevant consuls to the scene. They have been visiting every single police station, hospital and postmortem examination center to check if any Korean national has been affected. So far, reports of three Koreans who have been presumably affected have been received, and it has been confirmed that one of them has been seriously wounded. The consuls are continuing to check with the local police and hospitals if there are the other two Koreans who have been affected.

Q: Could you give us more specific information, such as the identity of the person who has been seriously injured?

A: Regarding the identity, I will consult with the office in charge of this matter, and if there is anything that I can share with you, I will do so.

Q: I would like to ask a question about a civic group’s plan to erect a statue honoring the victims of forced labor in front of the Japanese Consulate in Busan. What is the Foreign Ministry’s position on this matter? As you have said earlier, collaboration among the ROK, the US and Japan is important now ahead of the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits. If the statue is erected, what diplomatic impact do you think it will have?

A: On your first question, it is the ROK government’s consistent position that regarding the installation of a sculpture near a diplomatic mission, international practices concerning the protection of diplomatic missions need to be taken into consideration. On your second question, I will not answer a hypothetical question.

Q: I have a related question. It has been reported that a Foreign Ministry official visited the Busan Metropolitan City Dong-gu Office yesterday, and talked about the issue. What effort is the Foreign Ministry making to resolve the issue?

A: The Foreign Ministry, in close consultation with relevant divisions, is working towards a smooth resolution of the matter.

Q: I would like to know who from the North Korean side will accompany the North Korean leader to the inter-Korean summit. There are speculations that first vice director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Yo-jong will come to the ROK. Do you have any information on that?

A: Specific details regarding the inter-Korean summit are usually announced by Cheong Wa Dae. Please refer to their announcements.

Q: According to the press release on the results of the meeting between Special Representative Lee Do-hoon and Acting Assistant Secretary Thornton, they noted that the upcoming inter-Korean and US-North Korea summits are an unprecedented opportunity to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish a lasting peace on the Peninsula. Could you tell us specifically what measures they agreed to implement to establish a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula?

A: Yes, we have issued the press release on the results of the meeting. Additional explanations are needed. We will discuss the issue further with the Office of Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, and let you know later.

Q: Are you going to give me further explanations later?

A: Yes. I will do so.

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

* unofficial translation