1. The second meeting of the Korean-German Advisory Group on the Foreign Policy towards Reunification took place in Berlin on February 5. It covered Germany’s experience with trust-building measures; the implications of the process toward the 2+4 Agreement for the Republic of Korea; and the ROK’s unification diplomacy.

* The 15-member Korean-German Advisory Group on the Foreign Policy towards Reunification is the first-ever advisory and consultative mechanism participated by the foreign ministries of the two countries and convened on an annual basis for discussions on unification diplomacy and relevant policies. Its ROK members are Chairmen Han Seung-joo and six other officials as well as a civilian expert -- professor Kim Sung-han of Korea University. The German side consists of Chairman Hartmut Koschyk and six other officials.

◦ The second meeting of the Advisory Group came at the suggestion of the German members only three months after the first of its kind held on October 31, 2014. This demonstrates the German side’s keen interest in the unification of the Korean Peninsula as well as its strong willingness to contribute in that regard.

◦ The two Chairmen of the Advisory Group briefed on the main details discussed in the meeting and policy suggestions to the ROK’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the heels of their meeting held in Berlin on February 6.

2. In session I on “Germany’s experience with trust-building measures,” the German members explained that Germany, by playing a leading role in the establishment of multilateral mechanisms for security cooperation, such as the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), created a favorable environment for its unification. They highlighted the importance of implementing trust-building measures on various levels—multilateral, bilateral and regional.

◦ In addition, the German side took note of the potential of the ROK government’s “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative” to ease tensions and promote cooperation in the region, and thereby to play a big role in creating an environment and other conditions favorable for the unification of the Korean Peninsula. They conveyed Germany’s support for the Initiative.

3. In session II on “the process toward the 2+4 Agreement,” Director-General for Legal Affairs Martin Ney at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, who had participated in the process, elaborated on it by drawing upon his personal experience: During the “narrow window of opportunity” which had suddenly been thrown open, or over the period of about 11 months from the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, till the achievement of German unification on October 3, 1990, Germany, through active diplomatic negotiations with the US, Russia, the UK and France, won their support and endorsement for German unification, thereby concluding the 2+4 Agreement.

◦ In particular, Germany’s process toward the 2+4 Agreement has significant implications for the ROK: In order to take advantage of the opportunity that emerges and win strong support and cooperation from neighboring countries, trust-based close cooperative ties should have been built with them through continued sincere dialogue.

4. In session III on “the ROK’s unification diplomacy,” Korea University professor and former Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han spoke about the possible impact of the unification of the Korean Peninsula on the US, China, Japan, Russia and the EU, as well as key variables -- such as North Korea’s choice and the US-China relations -- in the unification. The German participants conveyed keen interest in the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and its unification issue as well as interests of neighboring countries in that regard. They relayed Germany’s firm support for the peaceful unification of the Peninsula.

5. The successful second meeting of the Korean-German Advisory Group on the Foreign Policy towards Reunification is seen to have served as an opportunity to accelerate the ROK-Germany cooperation on the former’s unification issue and to provide a significant momentum for the ROK government’s efforts to implement “trustpolitik with the global community to usher in the unification era.” 


                    Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation