Congratulatory Remarks
by H.E. Kim Hong-kyun
Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs

KNDA-EUISS Conference
Brussels, June 18, 2015

Director Missiroli,
Ambassador Shin Bong-ghil,
Distinguished Representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to join you at this 2nd Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, or NAPCI, Conference co-hosted by Korea and the EU. This follows the conference in Korea last year. Today, thanks to the proposal and generous support of the EEAS, we have representatives from NAPCI countries as well. So, I am confident that we will have even more fruitful discussions on strengthening multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia. I thank the EUISS and KNDA for preparing and organizing for this conference.

NAPCI is not quite three years old. However, it has succeeded in gaining regional and international support. Not only countries such as the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia, but also international organizations, including the EU, the OSCE, NATO, ASEAN and the UN have expressed support for NAPCI. Last October, we held the first Track 1 NAPCI Meeting. And I am delighted to see Ambassador Reiterer, who made valuable contributions at that meeting, taking part as a panelist today.

The key objective of NAPCI is to build trust through cooperation in soft security areas. This includes fields such as nuclear safety, energy security and disaster management. More countries now recognize both the necessity and the utility of such functional collaboration, and we are seeing encouraging signs of “cooperation leading to more cooperation.”

Indeed, what NAPCI has achieved so far owes a lot to the strong support and participation of the regional countries. In this regard, I highly appreciate the participation of government representatives from NAPCI countries and also Secretary-General Iwatani at this meeting.

From the U.S., we have Ambassador King. I believe that his presence is an indication of how important Northeast Asia is to the U.S. The U.S. has two important allies, Korea and Japan, in the region. Moreover, three of America’s top ten trading partners are in Northeast Asia - China is second, Japan fourth and Korea sixth. The combined trade volume with the three countries accounts for almost a fourth of America’s total external trade.

So, both in terms of security and the economy, the interests of the U.S. and Northeast Asia are “inextricably and intrinsically linked,” to borrow the words of Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. The Korean and U.S. governments are engaged in discussions on how we can work together to take NAPCI forward, from the summit and ministerial levels to the working level.

China has been one of the strongest supporters of NAPCI since its earliest stages. Notably, China sent Assistant Minister Qian Hongshan to take part in the 2014 NAPCI Forum. It was also the first country to designate its focal point - Mr. Xing Haiming, who was the representative at the first Track I NAPCI Meeting, and who is with us here today.

All this shows China’s support for NAPCI. And I do hope that such kind of support will be continued - especially in developing the trilateral cooperation among Korea, Japan and China, as well as for regional cooperation in areas including nuclear safety and disaster management.

Let me emphasize that NAPCI seeks to enhance regional cooperation by complementing existing bilateral, mini-lateral and multilateral mechanisms. Among these, Korea-Japan-China Trilateral talks, which as the Chair country, Korea has worked hard to revive, and functional collaboration through the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat are important platforms for strengthening multilateral cooperation under NAPCI. In this regard, I appreciate Secretary-General Iwatani and the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat’s engagement with NAPCI, and look forward to seeing this continue in the coming years.

I am also glad to see representatives from the Japanese and Russian embassies and Ambassador of Mongolia present here today. I hope you will take an active part in the discussions today, and also deliver its outcomes to your capitals.

As I mentioned, various extra-regional and international organizations have supported and played important roles in advancing NAPCI. In particular, Europe has been a close partner and a significant contributor. Through the EU, as well as the Helsinki Process, Europe diffused Cold War tensions, achieved reconciliation and cooperation, and has been pursuing regional integration. For NAPCI, the European experience has been a source of inspiration. Therefore, European support is particularly meaningful and pertinent.

Earlier this month, during the OSCE Asian Conference held in Seoul, I chaired a special session on NAPCI. This was held under the theme of “NAPCI and the OSCE’s Experience in Confidence and Security Building Measures.” The meeting offered us all the chance to discuss and debate how the OSCE’s experience and expertise could be applied to NAPCI.

So, including the ASAN-SIPRI Expert Roundtable held here in Brussels last March, this means that three NAPCI-related meetings have been held in collaboration with our European partners in just three months.

Of course, Northeast Asia has its own regional characteristics and circumstances, so not all aspects of the European experience and its know-how will be directly applicable. However, I strongly believe that when NAPCI takes root in Northeast Asia - a missing link in terms of regional cooperative mechanisms, this will contribute not just to the peace and stability of that part of the world, but the world-at-large.

Last year’s discussions focused on sharing and learning from Europe’s experience. I believe that today, we should try to take a step forward. We have an invaluable opportunity to not only talk about cooperation in Northeast Asia, but also cooperation between Europe and Northeast Asia. For Europe, I believe, thinking about multilateral cooperation in another region could provide fresh perspectives on European integration as well.

Moreover, last year’s conference had an impact on events that followed it, including the NAPCI Forum and the first Track 1 NAPCI Meeting. Likewise, we will thoroughly review the outcomes of today’s conference, and make the best use of them for upcoming discussions on NAPCI, including the second Track 1 NAPCI Meeting in October - to make them successes as well.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When we look back how Europe could come such a long way in achieving economic integration, we can see that political and security cooperation and the mutual trust played key roles.

Nowadays, we are living in a world where strengthening integration and connectivity are global trends. East Asia is no exception, with efforts including the Korea-Japan-China FTA and regional FTAs, such as the TPP, RCEP, and the FTAAP.

In this regard, I believe that NAPCI could facilitate the region’s economic integration and interdependence, contributing to not only regional dialogue and cooperation, but to our common prosperity too.

So, I would like to ask all of you to support Korea’s determined and sincere efforts for a new Northeast Asia through NAPCI. I look forward to all your insights and experiences today. Thank you. /끝/