1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will visit Germany from February 5 through 8 at the invitation of his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. On February 6, the two Ministers will hold a meeting. On the day before, February 5, the second meeting of the Korean-German Advisory Group on the Foreign Policy towards Reunification will take place in Berlin, the outcome of which will be reported to the two top diplomats.

◦ The Republic of Korea-Germany Foreign Ministers’ meeting will focus on ways to work together on North Korea and its nuclear issues and on unification diplomacy; ways for strategic collaboration on key international security issues, including those in Northeast Asia, the Middle East, Ukraine and the EU; and ways to step up collaboration on such global issues as climate change, the Ebola epidemic and counter-terrorism.

2. During his visit to Germany, Minister Yun will meet bilaterally with his counterparts from the ROK’s major partner countries and high-level officials of international organizations, who will be in Germany for the 51st Munich Security Conference slated for February 6-8.

3. The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s division and its liberation from Japan’s colonial rule as well as the 25th anniversary of German unification. In this sense, the Foreign Minister’s visit to Germany is expected to serve as an opportunity to solidify Germany’s support for the ROK government’s global diplomacy toward a peaceful unification; and to discuss in detail ways to work together in that regard.

◦ In particular, the Foreign Minister’s visit to Germany will come at the request of Germany in only three months after Minister Steinmeier’s visit to the ROK in late October 2014. The visit will serve as the opportunity for the first-ever consultation with the ROK’s major partner country aimed to put into full gear diplomacy for “unification preparation” since a relevant policy briefing was presented to the President in early 2015. The visit clearly demonstrates that the ROK and Germany are seeing their ties evolve into a strategic cooperative relationship on not only bilateral issues but also the future of the Korean Peninsula and global issues. 


                Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation