Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Noh Kyu-duk

July 17, 2018  14:30  KST

Good Afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will visit New York, the US, from July 19 to 21.

On July 20, Minister Kang will meet with UN Secretary-General Guterres and high-level officials from the Secretariat, and discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and major global issues.

On the morning of the day, Minister Kang will meet with US Secretary of State Pompeo, and after the meeting, the Minister and the Secretary will hold a joint briefing for the members of the Security Council to talk about the efforts of the ROK and the US to achieve complete denuclearization and establish a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and to garner support from the international community.

As full support and cooperation from the international community, including the members of the Security Council, are essential to achieve complete denuclearization and establish a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Kang’s upcoming visit to New York is expected to become a good opportunity to secure such support and cooperation.

The visit is also expected to serve as an opportunity to further increase strategic communications and coordination between the ROK Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State on issues on the Korean Peninsula, and the ROK-US alliance.

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

[Q&A]

Q: There have been reports that North Korean coal arrived at an ROK port, and the UN Sanctions Committee also said so in its report released recently. When did the Foreign Ministry know that coal from North Korea was shipped to an ROK port? Did the ROK authorities find out about it before the Sanctions Committee Panel of Experts? Or were the ROK authorities notified of it by the Panel? If they were, when was it?

A: The ROK government has been exerting necessary diplomatic efforts in close cooperation with the international community, including the Sanctions Committee on North Korea, to ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council’s sanctions resolutions against North Korea. As far as I know, the ROK’s related authorities are conducting an investigation into the case you just mentioned.

Q: Did the ROK authorities find out about it before the Panel? Or Did the Panel find out about it before the ROK?

A: We found out about it before the Panel.

Q: Then, is it correct to say that we found out about it before the Panel, and notified the Panel of it, and it was revealed in the annual report recently released by the Panel?

A: I will give you further details on that after this briefing.

Q: I have a related question. To my understanding, North Korea has been repeatedly evading sanctions in such ways. Is the Foreign Ministry working with the international community to respond to such North Korean tactics to evade sanctions?

A: Yes, it is.

Q: Aren’t there any fundamental ways to prevent the North from employing such tactics? What areas are the Foreign Ministry and the international community cooperating on?

A: As I said earlier, the ROK’s related authorities are conducting an investigation into the case. One thing that I can tell you is that law enforcement authorities, or the police, cannot control the activities of every individual.

Q: I did not ask about an investigation of the ROK’s law enforcement authorities. The coal from North Korea was transferred to other vessels at a Russian port, wasn’t it? After that, it was shipped to the ROK on the other vessels, wasn’t it? If there had been any international collaboration with the Russian government, it would have been found out earlier. I am asking about what kind of international cooperation was underway.

A: The ROK was closely working together with the international community, and as a result, the case was uncovered, and related investigations are underway.

Q: Do you mean that the ROK found out about it before the coal arrived at an ROK port?

A: As related authorities are carrying out an investigation, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to talk about all the details here.

However, considering the media’s interest, I will give you some more information that I can share with you after this briefing.

- Announcement of the MOFA Spokesperson’s Commentary –

Before that, I have a commentary to announce.

It is the MOFA Spokesperson’s commentary on Japan’s revision of teaching manual for high schools.

1. The government of the Republic of Korea deems it very regrettable that the Japanese government revised its teaching manual for high schools to strengthen its unjust claims over Dokdo, an integral part of the ROK’s territory, on July 17, and strongly demands its immediate withdrawal.

2. The ROK government sternly points out that if the Japanese government continues to make its preposterous claims over Dokdo, which is clearly the ROK’s territory, based on an erroneous perception of history, and instills them in its future generations, it will make Japan lose an opportunity to reflect on its past wrongdoings, and to move towards a new future.

3. The ROK government makes it clear once again that it will never tolerate any provocations over Dokdo, clearly an integral part of the ROK’s territory historically, geographically and under international law, and continue to respond resolutely to them.

This is all for the MOFA Spokesperson’s commentary on Japan’s revision of teaching manual for high schools.

I will continue to take questions.

Q: This is a question about the Foreign Ministry’s general position, rather than details. The Lighthouse Winmore docked at the port of Yeosu, and the Koti, which was seized after that, entered the port of Pyeongtaek. This time, the ROK ports of Incheon and Pohang have been mentioned in the report of the Sanctions Committee on North Korea. What does the Foreign Ministry think is the reason for this? What is the Ministry’s position? I would also like to know if the Sanctions Committee has imposed any sanction or made any recommendation.

A: Let me just repeat what I said earlier in this briefing. I will give you some more information, including about the issue you mentioned, after this briefing.

Do you have any further questions? If there aren’t, I will conclude today’s briefing.

Thank you.

* unofficial translation