Press Briefing
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-Hwan
Dec. 14, 2010 14:30 KST


1. Opening Statement

I’m glad to see you all.

I am pleased to hold another briefing before the end of the year.

Today, I will first discuss the outcome of the President’s latest visit to Indonesia and Malaysia; the North 
Korean nuclear issue and artillery provocation on Yeonpyeong Island; the ROK-US-Japan Foreign 
Ministers’ Meeting; and the compromise on the KORUS (Korea-US) FTA. Then, I will take your questions.

President Lee Myung-bak visited Indonesia and Malaysia from Thursday to Saturday last week. In Bali, 
Indonesia, he co-chaired the 3rd Bali Democracy Forum with his Indonesian counterpart Yudhoyono 
and delivered a keynote speech.

In his keynote speech, the President highlighted the importance of democracy in promoting peace and 
stability, as well as his intention to strengthen development cooperation for co-prosperity of the Asia-
Pacific region.

The 3rd Bali Democracy Forum is deemed to have raised our country’s international standing as an 
exemplary country that has achieved democratization and industrialization simultaneously and as a 
leader in promoting democracy and co-prosperity in Asia.

In the Korea-Indonesia Summit, President Yudhoyono spoke of his country’s ten-year development plan 
to be implemented from next year, and requested Korea to be one of its main partners for the 
implementation. He then proposed sending a special delegation early next year in this regard.

We expect that the opportunity will help substantially expand the basis for our enterprises’ participation 
in a wide range of Indonesian sectors, including infrastructure, transportation, energy, and green industry.

In Malaysia, the President had summit talks with Prime Minister Najib, during which the two sides agreed 
to step up substantive cooperation between the two countries; to actively explore potential sectors like 
new and renewable energy for cooperation; and work closely together in the financial field, as Malaysia 
is the Islamic financial center. The meeting is believed to have served as an opportunity to take Korea-
Malaysia ties to the next level.

The government, considering North Korea’s construction of a light-water reactor and its uranium-
enrichment facilities as a violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the September 19 
Joint Statement as well as a grave challenge to the international non-proliferation regime, is consulting 
other countries concerned on possible countermeasures.

Also, with regard to the resumption of the Six-party Talks, the government’s position remains unchanged, 
still calling on North Korea to help create the appropriate environment for reopening the Talks by clearly 
demonstrating its denuclearization commitment with action.

In connection with North Korea’s artillery provocation on Yeonpyeong Island, I would like to repeat that 
we will enhance our military readiness to respond firmly in the event of further provocations by the North. 
Also, we plan to take necessary measures against North Korea in cooperation with relevant countries.

Next, I will touch upon the ROK-US-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Given North Korea’s more brazen 
expression of the intention to develop nuclear weapons and its reckless provocations, the Foreign 
Ministers of Korea, the US and Japan held a meeting in Washington on December 6 to reaffirm our 
position that the North’s nuclear development and other provocative acts pose a threat to all the three 
countries and that they will jointly counter such threats.

I believe that the trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting provided an opportunity to clearly deliver the three 
countries’ resolute stance to North Korea and clearly express our expectation for China to play a more 
active role in resolving the North’s nuclear issue and maintaining peace on the Korean peninsula.

The government is continuing diplomatic consultations with countries concerned based on the outcome 
of the latest tripartite Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, such as by sending Wi Sung-lac, Special Representative 
for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, to Russia.

Moving on to the KORUS FTA, as the Minister for Trade has said on several occasions, the two countries 
drew a win-win compromise in the additional rounds of negotiations. We can now move forward with the 
domestic procedure for the FTA’s ratification, which has been pending for three years and five months, 
in full swing. The US administration, on its part, will likely initiate the necessary process by requesting 
the FTA’s ratification to Congress, which will be newly formed this coming January.

The government is considered to have worked to secure an overall balance of interests in the latest 
compromise, which has reduced the US side’s concern over the automobile sector by placing it under 
mutual coordination and reflects our demands in other sectors.

Once the KORUS FTA goes into effect, FTA networks with the world’s major economic blocs, including 
the US, EU, ASEAN and India, will have been built, which, in turn, will lay the groundwork for our firms to 
use enormous overseas markets to their benefit.

The signing ceremony of the Treaty on the Establishment of Korea-China-Japan Trilateral Cooperation 
Secretariat will be held on December 16. The Japanese and Chinese Ambassadors to Korea and I will 
sign the Treaty. President Lee Myung-bak first proposed establishing the Secretariat at the 2nd trilateral 
summit in Beijing in 2009, and an agreement was reached at the 3rd summit this year to set up the 
office in Korea within next year. I ask you to attend and take keen interest in the signing ceremony.

Next, I will briefly speak about the Foreign Ministry’s budget.

The Ministry’s budget for next year has been set at 1.7444 trillion won, up 14.7 percent from this year’s 
1.5204 trillion won, which is expected to put us on a better financial footing for carrying out our activities. 
Despite the increase in the ratio of our Ministry’s budget to the total to 0.83 percent from the current 0.75 
percent, the ratio still remains at half of an average 1.64 percent of the OECD member states. We will 
continue efforts, such as the resolution of problems like foreign exchange losses and rigid excess 
expenditures, so that our diplomatic budget can better back up our diplomatic activities.

Lastly, I will briefly discuss our plan regarding personnel management, including the appointment of 
mission heads and high-level officials of the Ministry.

As I have told you several times about our personnel-management principles for realizing a fair Foreign 
Ministry, heads of our overseas missions and director-general-level officials will be selected in a fair, 
objective and transparent manner. To this end, director-general-level officials will hold consultations to 
gather overall opinions of the Ministry’s high-ranking officials and choose the best qualified candidates 
for such posts.

As part of efforts to better manage Ministry’s human resources, the 2nd Personnel Management 
Committee, comprised of director-general-level officials, has been established, entitling the Committee 
members, who are most familiar with working-level employees, to take charge of the greater part of 
personnel-management matters like the assignment of working-level employees to posts at the 
headquarters or overseas missions.

I expect that the Ministry’s high-ranking officials, including myself, will avoid managing the personnel 
based on personal connection and make concerted efforts to handle personnel affairs in an objective 
and fair manner.


2. Q&A

[Question]
I would like to ask you two questions. First, in the statement announced yesterday after the meeting 
with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun, the Russian Foreign Minister urged the resumption 
of the Six-party Talks. According to what you said today, there seems to be no particular shift in the 
Korean government’s position. Can it be construed as an official rejection of Russia’s proposal?

Second, the North Korean who went missing in Nepal and then sought asylum in India, had reportedly 
worked as a managerial-level employee of the Okryugwan. Please confirm this. Also, please tell us 
what progress is being made by the government to secure the release of the two Korean nationals 
arrested for alleged involvement in this incident.

[Minister]
To answer your first question, I understand that the Russian government has not officially made the 
proposal. As said repeatedly, our government does not oppose dialogue or meetings themselves, but 
deems that they are not yet appropriate both time-wise and principle-wise, which the Russian 
government appears to understand well. When Special Representative Wi Sung-lac makes a visit, 
there will be more discussions on the issue.

Regarding whether the North Korean who went missing in Nepal was the manager of Okryugwan 
in Nepal, I heard that he worked at a North Korean restaurant, but I’ll check once again if he was the 
manager of Okryugwan.

The Korean Embassy in Nepal is having discussions with Nepal’s government for the release of our 
nationals, and I hope there will be results soon.

[Question]
Concerning the conditions for the resumption of the Six-party Talks, you said that North Korea should 
show commitment to denuclearization with action. Please tell us specifically what action can 
demonstrate commitment to denuclearization.

[Minister]
The issue was addressed at the Korea-US-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and is also being 
discussed with the Chinese and Russian sides. Of course we have our own plan in mind, but this is 
not something that can be decided only by Korea. There should be agreement among the five parties, 
so I won’t tell you about the specific conditions here.

Since the conditions that we can offer North Korea should be agreed among the five parties, I won’t talk 
about the issue based only on our views.

[Question]
Please make an evaluation on overall measures that have been taken regarding the Foreign Ministry 
reform plan. There were various plans including Director draft system, Director-level ambassador 
system, and circulating ambassador evaluation system. As the Foreign Ministry is currently undergoing 
a period of shift in personnel for heads of overseas missions, the plans will be reviewed early next year 
at the earliest. Please evaluate the progress that has been made.

[Minister]
The most important thing in personnel reform is personnel management, and the progress will be 
made as a result of personnel management. The shift in heads of missions is underway, and high-level 
officials who will move to other posts are making preparations. This is what we’re currently doing.

As it is always the case, we are focusing on who is best suitable for a post. If there are similarly qualified 
people, high-level officials discuss who can serve best.

As we thought that it would be better for those who know the personnel issue best to handle it, we asked 
Directors-General to deal with the issue with a sense of responsibility, and gave them such authority. 
Therefore, I expect the 2nd Personnel Committee consisting of Directors-General to handle the 
placement of employees into departments at headquarters or overseas missions.

Now that Directors-General have the authority, I expect them to deal with the issue with a sense of 
responsibility. When all of these are fully established as a system, there won’t be any upcoming 
problems regarding the personnel issue at the Foreign Ministry.

[Question]
There has been controversy over Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s remark last weekend that 
Japan will discuss ways to dispatch Self-Defense Forces in case of emergency on the Korean 
peninsula with the Korean side. What is our government’s position on this? Please tell us if there was 
an advance agreement regarding this. If there wasn’t, is our government going to discuss it?

[Minister]
Following the Japanese media reports, I was wondering why such remark was made, but there was 
no advance agreement with the Japanese side. I don’t know under what context he said so, but I’ll tell 
you once again that there was no advance agreement with us.

I want you to understand that security cooperation between Korea and Japan is still in the early stages.

[Question]
The Russian side is continuously making remarks on the Yeonpyeong incident, ones that are different 
from those made regarding the Cheonan incident. What changes do you think have been made? Also, 
what is the reason for such changes?

[Minister]
After Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met with the North Korean Foreign Minister, Russia posted a 
statement on its website saying that North Korea is responsible for the Yeonpyeong incident, didn’t it? 
So, we think that Russia’s such position indicates that Russia is looking at the situation objectively. We 
will exert our best efforts so that Russia continues to hold the same position as us. Special 
Representative Wi Sung-lac’s visit to Russia aims to explain the outcome of the Korea-US-Japan 
Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and to have discussions. As you may remember, President Lee made a 
one-and-a-half day visit to Yaroslavl to have summit talks last September. Also, President Medvedev 
visited Korea to attend the G20 Seoul Summit, and talked a lot with President Lee. So, I think he gained 
better understanding of the situation on the Korean peninsula.

[Question]
I’d like to ask another question regarding conditions for the resumption of the Six-party Talks. I 
understand that at this point, it would be difficult to tell us specifically about the conditions for the 
resumption of the Talks. But, as there were three preconditions for the resumption of the Talks before 
North Korea’s revelation of a uranium enrichment facility, I think the situation has changed following 
the revelation. I expect the conditions for the resumption of the Talks to include the uranium enrichment 
issue in any way. Please tell us more about it.

Second, also on the conditions for the resumption (of the Six-party Talks), though there needs to be 
agreement among the five parties, as Pyongyang made an artillery attack against Korea, I expect North 
Korea’s action regarding the attack to be included in the conditions for the resumption of the Talks. 
What do you make of that?

[Minister]
The uranium enrichment issue will be included of course. It was also discussed whether the Cheonan 
incident was directly linked with the Six-party Talks. As it was the case in the Cheonan incident, although 
the Yeonpyeong incident isn’t directly related to the Six-party Talks, it would be right to say that North 
Korea’s attitude concerning the Yeonpyeong incident will have an impact on the Talks. If North Korea is 
willing to make progress through dialogue, I think they need to express such willingness.

[Question]
You mentioned a plan concerning the North Korean nuclear issue. Is it a plan we have coordinated, 
taking into account a recent series of China’s high-level diplomatic efforts including a visit to Korea, 
and a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang? Please tell us more specifically.

Also, there were reports on North Korea’s uranium facilities this morning. There have been speculations 
for years that Pyongyang might have uranium facilities, but I’d like to know if our government has more 
detailed information such as the locations of additional 3 to 4 sites.

[Minister]
What I have said is of course taking into consideration what was discussed at the recent series of 
events, including the Korea-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo’s 
visit to Seoul and Pyongyang. Concerning China, as I told you during a press conference in Washington, 
we note that China clearly has made efforts to deter North Korea’s provocation and maintain peace on 
the Korean peninsula. However, it is true that North Korea staged an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong 
Island, so we hope that China will play a bigger role with a clearer voice. I think China is also well 
aware of our expectations.

Also, with regard to the reports on the uranium enrichment facilities, that is a report based merely 
on intelligence, so I’ll just have to tell you that we have continued to monitor it.

[Question]
It has been 22 days since the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, and we seem to be in an equivocal 
situation without a conclusion on whether to refer the incident to the UN Security Council. Some people 
in Korea argue that referring it to the Security Council won’t be much effective, but others say that not 
referring the incident, the most serious encroachment of territory since the Korean War, to the Security 
Council, means that our Foreign Ministry gives up one of its options itself. Please tell us clearly what 
our government’s position is.

[Minister]
I’m well aware of such arguments. As I said on an occasion, the Security Council issue is being 
discussed among the members of the Security Council. So, details on the discussion haven’t yet been 
disclosed, and as we are not a member of the Council, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to 
talk about what they are discussing. Discussions are underway, and they are consulting closely with 
us in the course of the discussions.

I hope that the discussion won’t take long so that I can give you some information on that. We just need 
to wait a little more, as the discussion is ongoing among countries concerned.

[Question]
It was reported Monday that the US special envoy to Afghanistan Holbrooke died. Please make a 
remark on his death.

[Minister]
I have personally known Special Representative Holbrooke for a long time and sent a letter of 
condolence upon hearing his hospitalization. I heard that he passed away today. Special Representative 
Holbrooke has long ties with Korea and is a good friend of Korea. Even while he was not working in a 
government job, Special Representative Holbrooke helped Korea. The Korean government worked 
closely with him on Afghan matters, so his death is deeply regrettable.

[Question]
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said he looks forward to Japan participating in the ROK-US 
combined military exercise. What is your view on Japan's participation?

[Minister]
As I said before, our cooperation with Japan in the security field isn't as deep compared to other fields. 
Chairman Mullen's remarks don't clearly state the level of participation. I look forward to discussing 
such matter with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I believe specific proposals or discussion 
between working-level officials will take place.

[Question]
In his remarks on the uranium processing facility in Yeongbyeon, Dr. Hecker said considering past 
records of inspectors’ visits to the particular facility, it wouldn’t’ make sense to build and reveal a facility 
in that area. Therefore, Dr. Hecker said he believes additional unknown sites exist. Please tell us what 
the government’s assessment on the possibility of additional uranium processing facilities is.

[Minister]
Although I can’t conclusively speak about the matter, I personally believe Dr. Hecker’s assumption 
holds reason.

[Question]
There is prediction that US policy against North Korea will change following North Korea’s revelation 
of its uranium processing facility. In the short term, the US seems to have decided to put pressure on 
China and put priority on the ROK-US alliance following the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. However, 
in the long term, since non-proliferation is a major agenda for the US, there is perception that it will 
directly engage North Korea in some way. How is the government preparing for such development?

[Minister]
Having direct talks with the US has been North Korea’s long-time desire. Direct talks may take place 
some time in the future. However, there is no change in the US position that inter-Korea talks must 
take place prior to North Korea-US talks. I believe the US will continue discussing the matter with us.

[Question]
With the attack on the Cheonan vessel in March and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island 23 days ago, 
academics and experts say a possibility of a different kind of provocation by North Korea exists. What is 
your prediction and how are you preparing for such possibility?

[Minister]
I agree to a great extent on the prediction of additional North Korean provocation. It’s difficult to talk 
about the chance of provocation in numbers, but with such possibility, our military, police, and related 
organizations are making utmost preparations.

[Question]
You mentioned your expectation of China playing a more active role. How do you assess Councilor 
Dai Bingguo’s recent visit to North Korea?

[Minister]
It will take some time to find out about Dai Bingguo’s visit. China listened to our position during Dai 
Bingguo’s visit to Korea and it is also aware of what Korea, US, and Japan expect of China, so I believe 
all those messages were relayed to North Korea. The final decision is for North Korea to make, so it is 
early to talk about the result of Councilor Dai Bingguo’s visit to North Korea. We’ll have to wait and see.

[Question]
With the revelation of the uranium processing facility, I personally think a change in the process of the 
Six-party Talks is inevitable. The Talks have taken place based on the February 13 agreement, but as 
assistant secretary Christopher Hill said in an interview that he was not aware of the uranium 
processing facility and that he has been deceived, I believe a change in the process of the Talks is 
unavoidable. Is there discussion regarding the matter?

[Minister]
Of course there has been discussion regarding the matter. I have received question on the issue 
from the National Assembly and during my visit to Washington D.C. One correspondent said that I 
mentioned the uranium processing matter being included in the September 19 joint statement. The 
crux of the matter is that the uranium processing issue was not clearly stated in the September 19 
joint statement or the February 13 agreement. However since the uranium processing program has 
now been confirmed, the matter needs to be dealt with in one way or another. I can’t speak with a 
premise, but upon the resumption of the Six-party Talks, this matter needs to be clearly dealt with 
and put in a separate category.

[Question]
You said for North Korea-US talks to take place, inter-Korea talks is essential. However, with the 
provocation on Yeonpyeong Island and the operation of the uranium processing facility among 
many matters, inter-Korea talks have been completely suspended. Is there any precondition to 
restart inter-Korea talks?

[Minister]
It was the same when the attack on the Cheonan vessel took place. So I will stay away from speaking 
about preconditions. We can tell if North Korea is serious about having talks from the way they act 
and talk. We will have to judge from such behavior. We will not lay out preconditions and tell them to 
carry them out.

[Question]
You said to solve the North Korea nuclear issue, five parties from the Six-party Talks need to have 
an agreement. Are you leading or preparing anything on the five-party discussion, which excludes 
North Korea? Another question is, if the Six-party Talks run into a problem have you ever considered 
forming a different group?

[Minister]
We have our own ideas on the five-party discussion and continue to discuss the matter with the four 
other countries. Special Representative Wi’s recent visit to Russia is part of that effort. Special 
Representative Wi visited China not long ago and held talks with his Japanese and US counterparts 
during the ROK-US-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington D.C. So discussion on the 
matter has been consistently taking place.

At this time there is no other mechanism other than the Six-party Talks. With the suspension of the 
Six-party Talks and an agreement to create an environment to restart the Talks, I believe the future 
steps can be discussed following the resumption of the Six-party Talks. However, we can still think 
about other ideas.

[Question]
You have highlighted a plan to strengthen diplomatic capabilities vis-à-vis China since your 
inauguration. Please tell us how much progress has been made in this regard. Also, with a final 
compromise reached on the KORUS FTA, please tell us how negotiations for a Korea-China FTA 
will proceed.

[Minister]
As reported by some media, more officials will be assigned to an additional China division to be 
set up under the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau. Also, IFANS’ Center for Chinese Studies will open 
tomorrow with former Ambassador to China Shin Jeong-seung as its first Director. I will attend the 
opening ceremony tomorrow. I recall telling you before that work has been underway with the Prime 
Minister’s Office to establish a body to increase exchanges in the private sector, although the name 
of the body has yet to be set. It would probably take more time than previously thought due to a variety 
of internal procedures. Nevertheless, the Foreign Ministry aims to complete its share of work within 
the year.

[Question]
In the wake of the recent artillery shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, China proposed a meeting with 
a format slightly different from that of the Six-party Talks -- an emergency meeting of top delegates to 
the Six-party Talks. Some raise the possibility that the motive behind the proposal was to have the 
Six-party Talks address not only the North Korean nuclear issue but also the overall security on the 
Korean peninsula. I would like to know what our government’s position on the matter is.

[Minister]
If the Six-party process had proceeded as initially planned, a sub-working-group would have been 
formed among numerous sub-working-groups to handle issues related to the security on the Korean 
peninsula. If smooth progress is made in denuclearization through the Talks, such issues may be 
dealt with within the framework. Such working groups were formed prior to the inception the Six-party 
Talks.


* unofficial translation