Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Affairs Soosuk Lim

April 4, 2023  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin will visit India from April 7 to 8, and meet with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on April 7.

The upcoming meeting is the first one between the two Ministers as they mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and India this year. In the meeting, the two sides will discuss ways to make substantive progress in the Special Strategic Partnership between Korea and India, which is a key country in the region that shares values with Korea.

Foreign Minister Park will also visit Chennai, the economic center of South India, and engage in activities related to economic issues, including a visit to a Korean company.

Next, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin will meet with U.S. congressional delegations on a visit to Korea this week, and discuss the way forward for the ROK-U.S. relations.

Foreign Minister Park will meet today with nine Representatives, including Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, and discuss ways to strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance, which marks its 70th anniversary this year. Foreign Minister Park will also ask for support and cooperation from the U.S. Congress to make President Yoon’s upcoming state visit to the U.S. a big success.

In addition, Foreign Minister Park will meet with Senator Jon Ossoff tomorrow, and exchange views on ways to advance the ROK-U.S. alliance and expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

Lastly, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn will host a trilateral meeting with U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim and Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Takehiro Funakoshi in Seoul on April 7.

In the meeting, the three sides will share their assessments of and discuss ways to respond to the grave situation on the Korean Peninsula following the latest series of provocations by North Korea.

Special Representative Kim Gunn will also hold separate bilateral meetings with the U.S. and Japanese counterparts.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)