Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Noh Kyu-duk

December 4, 2018  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

First, the funeral of former President of the United States George H. W. Bush, who passed away on November 30, will take place at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. at 11 a.m., December 5. The government of the Republic of Korea will send a condolence delegation, led by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and comprised of ROK Ambassador to the US Cho Yoon-je, and Chairman & CEO of Poongsan Group Ryu Jin.

Moving on to the next topic, the 6th Republic of Korea-People’s Republic of China public diplomacy forum, co-hosted by the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and co-organized by the Korea Foundation and the China Public Diplomacy Association, will take place in Yancheng in China’s Jiangsu Province on December 5.

Ambassador for Public Diplomacy of the ROK Foreign Ministry Bahk Sahng-hoon and Deputy Director-General of the Information Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Li Minggang will represent the Foreign Ministries of the two countries, respectively, at the forum. The forum will also bring together about 60 people from academia, business circles, and the media of the two countries, including President of the Korea Foundation Lee Si-hyung, President of the 21st Century ROK-China Exchange Association Kim Han-kyu, Vice President of the China Public Diplomacy Association Hu Zhengyue, and former Minister of the State Council Information Office of China Zhao Qizheng.

The forum is expected to contribute to enhancing friendship and mutual trust between the two countries, and building broader consensus between the two countries on the progress in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

Thank you.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)

* unofficial translation