1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Deputy Minister for Diplomacy in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office Michael Oren on November 11. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on a wide range of matters, including ways for the Republic of Korea and Israel to step up substantive cooperation across the board; ways to work together on the international stage; and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.

2. The two sides shared the view that their two countries have steadily seen their friendship and cooperation advance since forging diplomatic relations in 1962; and are similar to each other in that they both have achieved economic development and democracy despite such difficulties as security threats from their surrounding regions and insufficient resources.

° The two sides, citing the ROK’s dispatch of a delegation to Israel to offer condolences over the passing of the late President Peres in September, the seventh meeting of the bilateral Joint Economic Committee and the initiation of bilateral FTA negotiations in June, shared the view that their two countries in robust cooperation with each other.

° The two sides agreed to work more closely together at UNESCO, the UN General Assembly and other international organizations.

3. The two sides, recognizing the importance of the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East in terms of international security, agreed to continue relevant consultations at various levels. They also discussed foreign policies that US President-elect Trump would likely implement in the future.

° Minister Yun, calling North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations a grave security threat to not only the Korean Peninsula but the international community, asked the Israeli government to remain cooperative with the international community in pressuring North Korea, including under the resolution on the human rights situation in the North.

4. The ROK-Israel meeting came amid the growing bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, as can be seen from the entry into force of the Agreement on the Mutual Recognition and Exchange of Driving Licenses and the Working Holiday Program Agreement in February 2016, as well as FTA negotiations; and in the e-government system. As such, it is expected to help boost high-level exchanges and cooperation.


* unofficial translation