Remarks by the Chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic
Academy, H.E. Byung-jae Cho,
Indian Ocean Conference, September 1, 2017
                                         Colombo, Sri Lanka

H.E. President Maithripala Sirisena
Former President Pranab Mukherjee
Vice-president Vincent Meriton
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak, on behalf of the Korean Government, at the 2nd Indian Ocean Conference, held under the theme of “Peace, Progress, and Prosperity.” 

Is the Indian Ocean relevant to South Korea? Yes, very much.

Emerging from the ashes of the Korean War in the 1950s, the Korean people faced a shortage of even food itself. As we could not find enough maritime protein resources in the narrow coastal waters near the Korean Peninsula, we sent a fishing vessel - “Jinam-ho” - out to distant waters. This was Korea’s first deep-sea fishing operation.

At first, Jinam-ho went into the coastal waters off Singapore and the Philippines but the catch was not good, which drove the vessel farther into the Indian Ocean. There at last in 1957, Jinam-ho managed to catch 10 tons of high-quality fish.
This fish, you call“Tuna.”

We, in Korea call it“Cham Chi,”which literally means “Real Good Fish.”
As this story shows, the Indian Ocean is the place that laid the foundation for Korea’s deep-sea fishing industry – and indeed it served as the first beacon of hope for the Korean people when the country was preparing to make its mark on the world.

Even now, the sea lines of communication in the Indian Ocean are vital to Korea for trade and commerce. The theme of today’s conference - “Peace, Progress, and Prosperity”are values that are as relevant to Korea as to all other countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).  

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Nowadays, it is often said that the center of the global community is moving away from the ‘Asia-Pacific’ towards the ‘Indo-Pacific.’The newly inaugurated Korean government is placing more emphasis than ever on promoting its relations with the key countries in the region who are leading ‘the era of the Indo-Pacific.’

The Korean government is pushing forward with practical initiatives for cooperation and is actively trying to join other countries in building a regional community and to promote prosperity in East Asia and beyond.

In this regard, President Moon, upon his inauguration in May, sent his Special Envoy to India and other ASEAN countries. The main goal of this diplomatic initiative is to work together with India and other countries in the region to pursue ‘sustainable common prosperity’ and to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. 
In particular, on the basis of the ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ forged in 2015, my government will be working closely with the Indian Government to enhance physical, people-to-people, and institutional connectivity.
 
Korea is willing to deepen demand-driven economic cooperation, supporting the idea of bringing more regional connectivity in the fields of energy, logistics and transportation through increased infrastructure investment and creating multilateral forums for trade, commerce and economic development.

My government welcomes the initiatives proposed and carried out by countries in the region in order to boost connectivity by developing regional infrastructure. I look forward to creative and concrete ideas and policy inputs being developed here at this conference, creating synergies among these various initiatives.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Indian Ocean Region is an indispensable conduit for Korea’s major exports and energy imports. It is therefore clearly in the interests of Korea to join other countries to safeguard the peace and stability of the region.
Nowadays, these vital sea lines of communication are not without challenges. Maritime terrorism, piracy, natural disasters as well as increasing instances of naval presence are factors that have the potential to undermine the stability of the Indian Ocean Region. 

The Korean Government is of the view that it is critical to establish a rules-based order in the Indian Ocean. We seek active cooperation with the countries involved to strengthen maritime governance such as maritime Confidence Building Measures, including collective counter-terrorism efforts and anti-piracy cooperation, and for ensuring freedom of navigation and over-flight in the Indian Ocean.

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today the attention of the world is on the Korean Peninsula, as North Korea’s recent missile provocations have sparked a sense of crisis on the peninsula. North Korea’s missile and nuclear provocations are now the biggest security threat not only to the Northeast Asian region but indeed to the international community as a whole.

These provocations are outright violations of the rules-based international order, and the whole international community condemns them as demonstrated by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Resolving this issue is my government’s utmost priority task. And, in this regard, my government will utilize all available means, sanctions as well as dialogues.
As long as North Korea continues its provocations, the international community cannot but put more pressure, further strengthening sanctions and restrictions, and my government cannot but take more countermeasures to defend itself against any contingency.

At the same time, the Korean Government will endeavor to build a lasting peace regime on the peninsula along with its efforts to denuclearize the North. We do not seek North Korea's collapse, nor unification by absorption. We are calling for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and opening of channels for military talks to prevent any further escalation.

I look forward to your support so that North Korea recognizes that, when it halts provocations and makes the right choices, the international community will open a bright future for it. 

I sincerely hope that the spirit of today’s conference – Peace, Progress, Prosperity – not only blossoms in the Indian Ocean region but also in the Northeast Asia and on the Korean Peninsula.  

Thank you.