1. Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State discussed the ROK government’s New Southern Policy and the US Indo-Pacific Strategy at the Foreign Ministry on August 24.

o Participants from the ROK side were the Director-General for North American Affairs, the Deputy Director-General for South Asian and Pacific Affairs, and officials from relevant divisions, including the Development Cooperation Bureau, the Office of the Director-General for Strategy, the Bilateral Economic Affairs Bureau, and the International Organizations Bureau. Participants from the US side were officials from the US Department of State, and the US Embassy in the ROK, including Walter Douglas, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who is on a visit to the ROK.

2. The ROK side explained the ROK government’s New Southern Policy, and its plans to pursue the policy. The US side explained the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, which has been concretized following US Secretary of State Pompeo’s recent announcement of the US plans to implement it in the areas of economy and security. The US side also shared its activities in the region, and how it was working together with other countries.

o The two sides especially took note of the complementary nature of the New Southern Policy and the Indo-Pacific Strategy, both of which pursue openness, inclusiveness, and transparency. They also agreed to continue efforts to find common elements between the two countries’ policies so that the two countries’ efforts give impetus to each other to create synergy, and thereby expand cooperation between the ROK and the US in a wider range of areas.

3. The consultation, held as various initiatives for regional peace and prosperity are being proposed and discussed, served as an opportunity to help the two sides better understand the New Southern Policy and the Indo-Pacific Strategy, being pursued after the inauguration of the new governments in both countries last year.

* unofficial translation