Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Kim In-chul

March 14, 2019  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

First, on the morning of March 18, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will hold a meeting and a luncheon with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Libya Mohamed Taha Siala, who will visit the Republic of Korea from March 17 until 19.

In the forthcoming meeting, the two top diplomats will exchange views on the relations and major issues between the two countries; ways to step up substantive bilateral cooperation; and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.

Moving on to the second and last topic, Amb. Lee Do-hoon, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, who held Republic of Korea-United States and ROK-US-Japan meetings of top negotiators on the North Korean nuclear issue during his visit to the US last week, is continuing close consultations with relevant countries on possible next steps in the wake of the Hanoi summit between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Tomorrow, March 15, the Special Representative, together with Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kenji Kanasugi who is on a visit to the ROK, will hold a meeting in their capacity as top negotiators of the ROK and Japan on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Next week, the Special Representative will visit the Russian Federation for a meeting with the Russian top negotiator on the issue. He will then visit Brussels, Belgium, during which he will attend a meeting of the Political and Security Committee of the European Union and meet with Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid for a discussion on the full range of issues concerning the Korean Peninsula.

This series of consultations with major countries is expected to serve as a significant opportunity to review the progress in diplomatic efforts regarding the North Korean nuclear issue in the wake of the second US-DPRK summit and to discuss possible next steps.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)

* unofficial translation