Courtesy Visit to President of Senate of Colombia and Floral Tribute at Korean War Memorial Tower

1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun, who is visiting Colombia, laid wreaths of flowers at the Korean War Memorial Tower and paid a courtesy visit to President of the Senate of Colombia Arturo Char on April 20 before wrapping up his visit to the country.

2. As this year marks the 70th anniversary since the Colombian government sent its troops to fight in the Korean War, Vice Minister Choi laid wreaths of flowers at the Korean War Memorial Tower in War College in Bogota on the morning of April 20 to pay tribute to the Korean War veterans of Colombia, the only Latin American country that participated in the Korean War.

※ Colombia sent a total of 5,062 soldiers during the Korean War, which left 214 out of them dead and another 448 wounded.

- Among the participants of the event were Korean Ambassador to Colombia Choo Jong Youn from Korea, and Director of War College Luis Ospina and Colombian Ambassador to Korea Juan Carlos Caiza, among others, from Colombia.

3. Following the event, Vice Minister Choi paid a courtesy visit to President of the Senate of Colombia Char and exchanged views on enhancing parliamentary exchanges and cooperation as well as promoting cooperation in the areas of culture and sports, as next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

° In particular, Vice Minister Choi and President of the Senate of Colombia Char took note of the cooperation potential in Colombia’s agriculture for sustainable and green growth in the future and agreed to promote post-COVID-19 cooperation for growth by taking advantage of digital transformation and green technology.

4. After the first leg of his trip, Vice Minister Choi will leave for San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, on the night of April 20 in order to strengthen cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels with Central American countries including by holding the 13th Korea-SICA Cooperation Dialogue, paying a courtesy visit to the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, and having high-level Korea-Costa Rica political consultations.