Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Affairs Choi Youngsam

February 3, 2022  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun, together with Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States Carmen Moreno who will visit Korea from February 6 to 8, will chair the 7^th Korea-Mexico high-level policy consultation on Monday, February 7.

At the forthcoming consultation, the Vice Minister and the Undersecretary will exchange views on ways to advance the relations between the two countries which will mark the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, to expand substantive cooperation in such areas as trade, investment and infrastructure, and to bolster cooperation on the international stage including Central America and MIKTA, as well as the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Latin America.

The upcoming Korea-Mexico high-level policy consultation, the first of its kind to take place in about seven years since the one held in 2016, is expected to serve as a significant opportunity to further strengthen strategic partnership with Mexico, Korea’s major cooperative partner in Latin America.

Let me share with you the progress regarding the launch of a public-private joint taskforce as part of the Korean government’s measures in response to Japan’s nomination of the “Sado Island Gold Mines” for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

On Friday, January 28, the day when Japan announced its decision to pursue the inscription of the “Sado Island Gold Mines,” the Korean government launched the public-private joint taskforce led by Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lee Sang-hwa and composed of officials of relevant organizations and experts.

This taskforce will hold its first meeting chaired by Ambassador Lee at 10:00 am, tomorrow, Friday, February 4, to discuss systematic and multidimensional response strategies.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)