1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters, New York, on February 9. In the meeting, the two sides consulted with each other on ways for the UN to respond to the repeated provocations by North Korea, including the recent nuclear test and launch of a long-range missile, as well as key pending issues of the UN.

2. Minister Yun extended appreciation to the UN Secretary-General for promptly issuing statements deploring North Korea’s nuclear test on January 6 and its launch of a long-range missile on February 7. With regard to North Korea’s habitual violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and disregard for the UN authority, the Minister highlighted the need for the UN Security Council to adopt in unity a tough and effective sanctions resolution and thereby to make North Korea change its attitude for the better.

° North Korea, in defiance of the four Security Council resolutions, conducted four nuclear tests and launched long-range missiles six times over the past ten years. The Minister stressed that under the circumstances, it is important to respond to the recent North Korean provocations with a stern resolve that the forthcoming resolution would be the terminating resolution.

3. In response, Secretary-General Ban called North Korea’s nuclear test and launch of a long-range missile actions violating the Security Council resolutions and sparking instability, expressing a deep concern over the provocations. He voiced hope for an early adoption of a Security Council resolution on North Korea, which is currently under discussion at the UN agency.

4. Minister Yun offered congratulations to Secretary-General Ban on the big successes in 2015, including the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) and the conclusion of the Paris Agreement on climate change. He mentioned that going forward, the government of the Republic of Korea will continue cooperation in implementing them. In response, the UN Secretary-General commended the ROK government for relevant efforts, particularly extending appreciation to the ROK government for its pledge at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, held in London on February 4.

° The two sides agreed to work together to make a success of the signing ceremony of the agreement on climate change and the World Humanitarian Summit 2016, which will take place at the UN in April and in Turkey in May, respectively, in 2016.


* unofficial translation