1. On October 18, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin met with President of the 78^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and Permanent Representative  of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN Dennis Francis, who was on a visit to Korea for the Annual Meeting of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly (UNCPGA). During their meeting, the Foreign Minister and the UNGA President exchanged views on key global issues and ways for Korea-UN cooperation.

2. Foreign Minister Park welcomed UNGA President Francis’ visit to Korea as his first official overseas engagement since his inauguration and shared the Korean government's plan on seeking to narrow global gaps in development, climate and the digital area through efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the leadership of the UNGA President.

3. Foreign Minister Park added that the Korean government, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2024-2025 term, will contribute substantively to the Security Council's efforts to maintain global peace and security.

4. UNGA President Francis extended appreciation to the Korean government for its commitment to contribute tangibly to narrowing global gaps, among others, and asked for its continued efforts toward the achievement of the SDGs by 2030.

5. The two sides discussed global issues such as peacekeeping, climate change, women and sustainable development, agreeing that Korea and the UN will step up cooperation in order to resolve complex crises of the international community including the crisis in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and other geopolitical conflicts.

6. Foreign Minister Park mentioned that as any arms trade and/or cooperation between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the nuclear and missile fields -- should they materialize -- would constitute not only a clear violation of Security Council resolutions but also a threat to the security of Korea, they should be halted immediately. The Foreign Minister, also stressing that the DPRK's human rights issues are directly linked to international peace and security, voiced hope for a stronger solidarity and cooperation at the UN and other multilateral forums for improvements in the human rights situation in the DPRK.

7. Foreign Minister Park, referring to the Korean government's wish to explore ways to resolve the climate crisis and other global challenges at World Expo 2030 in Busan, asked for the UNGA President's interest in and support for Korea's World Expo bid.