Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Noh Kyu-duk

September 13, 2018  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have three announcements to make.

First, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will attend the opening ceremony of the 21^st Future Leaders’ Conference to take place in Yeouido, Seoul, on September 17.

Seventy-five Korean future leaders have been invited to the Republic of Korea from 24 countries to join the five-day event designed to muster their capabilities, to build networks among them and to enhance their bond with their homeland.

At the event, Minister Kang will deliver celebratory remarks, highlighting the importance of roles of Korean future generations as bridges between their homeland, which is the Republic of Korea, and Korean communities abroad and asking them to support the ROK government’s efforts toward peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.  

Moving along, Minister Kang Kyung-wha will meet with Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi of ASEAN on September 17, who will visit the ROK for the first ASEAN-ROK meeting of infrastructure ministers.

In the meeting, Minister Kang will share with the Secretary-General the recent progress in the implementation of the ROK government’s New Southern Policy and ask for the ASEAN Secretariat’s attention to and robust cooperation on the ROK’s efforts to carry out the Policy.

Lastly, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will attend the ceremony marking the first anniversary of the opening of the ASEAN Culture House, which will be held in Busan on September 14.

The ASEAN Culture House, which opened in Busan on September 1, 2017, has been conducting various programs to introduce to Koreans the cultures and history of the ten member states of ASEAN and thereby helping them better understand the bloc.

In his celebratory remarks, Vice Minister Cho will take note of the advances in the cooperative relations between the ROK and ASEAN made over the past 30 years and highlight the ROK government’s commitment to take its partnership with ASEAN to the next level through its New Southern Policy.

Thank you.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)

* unofficial translation