1. On March 20, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul met with Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Oliver Dowden who visited Korea to attend the 3rd Summit for Democracy. During the meeting, they exchanged views on the implementation of the matters agreed upon on the occasion of the State Visit to the UK by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year; enhancing cooperation for promoting democracy; the situation on the Korean Peninsula; regional security; as well as cooperation in multilateral fora.

2. Minister Cho and Deputy Prime Minister Dowden agreed to faithfully implement the Downing Street Accord agreed upon during President Yoon’s State Visit to the UK last November, and to further strengthen the Global Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In particular, they agreed to hold a Foreign and Defence Ministerial 2+2 Meeting as early as possible, as agreed upon during the State Visit.

3. Minister Cho highlighted the close solidarity between the two countries, which share universal values of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law, in promoting democracy amid the deepening global polycrisis, and valued the co-hosting of the Ministerial Conference at the Summit for Democracy as a result of this collaboration. Minister Cho and Deputy Prime Minister Dowden agreed to continue to work together in various ways to uphold democracy in the future also.

4. In particular, Deputy Prime Minister Dowden expressed concerns about the possible disinformation and intervention in the multiple elections scheduled this year, for example, through cyber attacks which can result in critical damage to the election system, the very cornerstone of democracy. In this context, he hoped for stronger shared efforts with Korea in the cybersecurity sector.

5. In addition, Minister Cho and Deputy Prime Minister Dowden exchanged views on enhancing economic cooperation, including the improvement of the FTA and joint efforts in high-tech science, such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, and biotechnology.

6. They also shared concerns about North Korea’s continued provocations as well as military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and agreed to enhance concerted efforts not only bilaterally but also at the multilateral level to respond to new security environments and the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine.

7. Minister Cho expressed Korea’s commitment to expanding its role and contributions as a Global Pivotal State, and enhancing ties of cooperation with the G7 countries. He expressed the wish that the Korean government would work closely with the UK government during its non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council, and asked for the UK’s valuable support in these efforts.