Press Briefing

Deputy Spokesperson Kim Deuk-hwan

August 16, 2018  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have two announcements to make.

First, on August 17, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will hold a working luncheon with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani of Qatar, who is on a visit to the Republic of Korea from August 15 till 17.

Qatar is the top supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the ROK, with the latter having imported 31.2% of its LNG requirements from the former in 2017. In the forthcoming meeting, the two top diplomats will exchange views on the progress in the ROK-Qatar relations and major bilateral issues; ways to step up bilateral substantive cooperation and to work together on the international stage; and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.

Moving on to the second and last topic, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will attend the second plenary meeting of the Republic of Korea-United States High Level Bilateral Commission in Washington DC, the US, on August 16.

Vice Minister Cho Hyun and Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette of the US Department of Energy will co-chair the meeting that will bring together some 60 people, including director-general-level officials of the two countries’ government agencies related to nuclear energy.

At the forthcoming meeting, the two countries will discuss relevant matters of mutual concern, including the two countries’ nuclear energy policies, nuclear exports, nuclear safety, decommissioning, non-proliferation and nuclear security. They will also review the tangible progress in cooperation underway by each Working Group under the Bilateral Commission.

Thank you.

* unofficial translation