1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, during his visit to New York to attend the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on September 27. In the meeting, the Minister and the Secretary exchanged views on the relations between the Republic of Korea and the United States, North Korea and its nuclear issue, the situation in Syria and regional cooperation.

2. With regard to North Korea and its nuclear issue, Minister Yun mentioned that the incumbent ROK government is continuously working to strongly pressure and persuade North Korea within the ROK government’s overarching framework of trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula. He added that in order to make substantive progress toward denuclearization of North Korea, the ROK and the US should work closely together while securing continued contribution from China.

º In response, Secretary Kerry took note of the thorough ROK-US coordination on North Korea issues as well as the ROK government’s consistent policy toward North Korea, and proposed that the ROK and the US maintain close consultation to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea.

3. Minister Yun commended the US diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation in Syria, including the US-Russia agreement reached on September 14 and the UN Security Council resolution adopted on September 26, both of which call for destroying chemical weapons in Syria. He added that the ROK, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and member of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will continue to take part in international efforts to ultimately destroy all chemical weapons in Syria.

º In response, Secretary Kerry extended his appreciation to the ROK government for joining international efforts to resolve the Syrian issue, including taking part in the adoption of a relevant joint statement at the latest G20 Summit and issuing five statements to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria. He emphasized the need for the ROK and the US to maintain close cooperation in the process of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons.

4. The Minister and the Secretary shared the view that negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement and the envisioned revision of the ROK-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement as well as consultations on ways for smooth implementation of the KORUS (Korea-US) FTA should move forward in the spirit of the bilateral alliance. They agreed to work closely together for the ROK-US alliance to further advance as a linchpin for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

5. Lastly, the two sides exchanged views on ways that the two countries can work together to boost regional cooperation on such occasions as APEC and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in early October. 


                          Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation