1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with US Ambassadors Mark Lippert, Caroline Kennedy and Max Baucus to the Republic of Korea, Japan and China, respectively, on November 7 and exchanged viewed with them on nuclear and other issues of North Korea and issues concerning the ROK-US alliance.

2. Minister Yun took note of the close ROK-US coordination in not only Seoul and Washington but also Tokyo and Beijing with regard to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats; and calling North Korea’s efforts to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities and threats to use nuclear weapons a direct threat to not only Northeast Asia but also the US, underscored the need for the two countries to place their top foreign policy priority on North Korea and its nuclear issue.

° The three US Ambassadors responded that as the US also recognizes the urgency of the North Korean nuclear issue, the next US administration will work on the issue as a top priority.

3. Minister Yun noted with appreciation that through their watertight coordination with each other, the ROK and the US are seeking to create a circumstance where North Korea cannot but abandon its nuclear ambitions. To that end, they are making diplomatic efforts for the UN Security Council to adopt a new resolution, for individual countries to impose unilateral sanctions, and to isolate North Korea, all of which are backed by a military deterrence. He stressed the ROK-US coordination should remain in place even under the new US administration.

° Minister Yun proposed that the ROK and the US work closely together through the “Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG),” which the two countries had recently decided to establish, and a consultative mechanism on North Korea’s human rights, and brace themselves thoroughly for possible provocations by the North in this transitional situation, where the launch of the next US administration is approaching. The three Ambassadors, accepting the Minister’s proposal, mentioned that the coordination between the ROK and the US will be further bolstered even after the launch of the new US administration.

4. Minister Yun noted with appreciation that the ROK-US alliance is evolving into a global alliance; that the KORUS (Korea-US) FTA is bringing benefits to both countries; and that the two countries are broadening the scope of their cooperation to include climate change and space.

° The three US Ambassadors, sharing the Minister’s view, forecast that the already strong ROK-US alliance will move further forward, regardless of the result of the US presidential election on November 8.

5. The Minister-Ambassadors meeting, which came on the sidelines of the annual meeting in Seoul of the US Ambassadors to the ROK, Japan and China, is seen to have served as an opportunity to discuss ways that the ROK and the US can coordinate closely with each other in responding to North Korea’s repeated threats and to reaffirm their shared commitment to keep the strong bilateral alliance in place regardless of the result of the US presidential election.


* unofficial translation