Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Kim In-chul

March 21, 2019  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

First, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will hold a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on March 26 with Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and of Defence of the Kingdom of Belgium Didier Reynders, who will accompany King Philippe on his state visit to the Republic of Korea.

In the meeting, the two top diplomats will discuss ways to use King Philippe’s visit to the ROK as an opportunity to enhance friendly and cooperative ties as well as substantive cooperation, and to seek diversified cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides will also exchange views on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss ways to work together on major international issues, including those concerning cyber security and development cooperation.

The forthcoming meeting is expected to contribute to efforts to further step up the already-close high-level communication and exchanges between the two countries, and to diversify the ROK government’s diplomacy toward Europe.

Moving along, Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho will deliver a lecture on the peace process on the Korean Peninsula at “the World Journalists Conference 2019,” set to take place at the Press Center in Seoul on March 25.

The forthcoming event, the seventh of its kind since the first held in 2013, is expected to serve as an opportunity for journalists from across the world to explore what role they could play for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the world.

Lastly, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Yoon Soon-gu will hold the 5^th ROK-Visegrád meeting of deputy ministers for political affairs with the head delegates from the four member countries of the Visegrád  Group (V4) -- the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland, and Hungary -- on March 26.

After the meeting, the head delegates from the V4 countries will pay a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.

In the upcoming meeting, the two sides will exchange in-depth views on ways to promote friendly and cooperative ties between the ROK and the V4 countries; situations on the Korean Peninsula as well as in Europe and other regions of the world; and global issues.

The meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity to promote friendly and cooperative relations between the ROK and the V4 countries -- member states of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well as the ROK’s main partners for substantive cooperation -- and to bolster the foundation for the ROK government’s diplomatic diversification on the regional and global levels.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)

* unofficial translation