1. On September 4, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her Philippine counterpart Alan Peter S. Cayetano, who made an official visit to the Republic of Korea to attend the 8th Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) Foreign Ministers’ meeting and the opening ceremony of an ASEAN cultural center.

o Minister Kang welcomed the Philippine Foreign Secretary’s official visit to the ROK, which marked the first of its kind in five years, and exchanged views on cooperation in political affairs, including high-level exchanges, national defense, and the defense industry; North Korea and its nuclear issue; cooperation in consular affairs, including the protection of the ROK nationals in the Philippines; and substantive cooperation in infrastructure and investment.

2. Minister Kang said that North Korea’s reckless and irresponsible nuclear test, conducted on September 3 despite the international community’s repeated warnings, cannot be tolerated under any circumstances, and expressed appreciation to the Philippine government for swiftly issuing a statement in response to North Korea’s sixth nuclear test. She also asked the Philippine government to show continued support regarding issues on the Korean Peninsula on various occasions, including the ASEAN-related summit meetings in November.

o Secretary Cayetano said that the North Korean nuclear issue is becoming a threat not only to the Korean Peninsula, but to East Asia and the whole world, and that the position of the ROK, a country directly concerned with issues on the Korean Peninsula, is most important. The Secretary said that the Philippine government fully supports the ROK government’s position on the issue, and will continue to closely work together with the ROK government.

3. Minister Kang once again congratulated the Philippines for assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN at this historic moment marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, and said that the ROK actively supports the Philippines’ efforts to further develop the ASEAN community.

o Minister Kang said that the ROK government will extend the horizons of its diplomacy to ASEAN and India, and hoped that the ROK and the Philippines, the first ASEAN country that has established diplomatic relations with the ROK, as well as a traditional ally whose relationship with the ROK was forged in blood, will continue to further strengthen their relations.

o The two sides agreed on the need to further increase high-level exchanges to advance the bilateral relations. Secretary Cayetano looked forward to President Moon Jae-in’s visit to the Philippines to attend the ASEAN-related summit meetings in November this year, as there will be the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since the inauguration of the new governments in both countries.

4. Minister Kang said that more than 1.4 million Korean nationals visit the Philippines a year, and about 100,000 Koreans stay in the country, and asked the Philippine side to make more efforts to protect the nationals of the ROK staying in or visiting the Philippines. Secretary Cayetano said that robust exchanges between the people of the two countries are the foundation for the bilateral relations, and that his country will continue to work to better protect the ROK nationals in the Philippines.

5. Minister Kang said that the ROK government has steadily developed mutually-beneficial cooperative relations in a range of areas, including development cooperation, trade, investment and infrastructure, and asked for the Philippine government’s interest and support to help Korean companies to increase their presence in the sectors. Secretary Cayetano welcomed the ROK side’s participation in laying the foundation for middle- and long-term development of the Philippine economy, including through infrastructure construction.

6. The meeting between Minister Kang and her Philippine counterpart marked the second meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries since the Philippines assumed the chairmanship of ASEAN this year. The meeting served as an opportunity to reaffirm ASEAN’s support for the ROK’s North Korea policy, and contributed significantly to the ROK government’s efforts to diversify its diplomacy.


* unofficial translation