Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Kim In-chul

July 30, 2019  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha will attend ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings to take place in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand, from July 31 to August 3.

Minister Kang will attend an ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministerial Meeting on August 1, an ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on August 2 and a Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on August 3. During the Meetings, Minister Kang, together with her counterparts, will review the progress in cooperation with ASEAN, one of the main regions for implementing the New Southern Policy; discuss the way forward for the cooperation; and share the progress in preparations for the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the 1^st Mekong-ROK Summit to take place in Busan in November 2019.

At the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers’ Meetings on August 2, Minister Kang will exchange views with delegates from the member states on regional and global situations, including that on the Korean Peninsula.

During her visit to Thailand for ASEAN-related Meetings, Minister Kang will have bilateral meetings with her counterparts from a number of major participating countries.

With the ROK and ASEAN marking the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of the Dialogue Partnership, the upcoming ASEAN-related Meetings are expected to serve as a significant opportunity to express the ROK government’s commitment to further accelerating the implementation of its New Southern Policy and taking its cooperative ties with ASEAN to the next level.

They are also expected to be an important opportunity to win from the international community support on the policy for complete denuclearization and establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, as well as to affirm the will to cooperate with other countries in promoting the free trade order, under the rapidly changing circumstances of late.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)

* unofficial translation