1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with a delegation from the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on June 27 and exchanged views with the group on the Republic of Korea-United States relations and other major matters of mutual concern.

※ The CSIS is a nonpartisan think tank in Washington DC founded in 1962 that specializes in foreign affairs and security.

- In 2009, it established a Korea Chair platform in the first such move by any such think tank in Washington.

※ The CSIS delegation, composed of President Hamre; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; former Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens; Japan Chair Michael Green; and Korea Chair Victor Cha, is on a visit to the ROK from June 25 till 28 for a JoongAng Ilbo (daily)-CSIS Forum on June 26.

2. Minister Kang, highlighting the ROK-US alliance as a basis of the ROK’s foreign and security policies, stated that going forward, the ROK, in close coordination with the US, will seek to take the bilateral alliance a notch higher, developing it into a strong, all-embracing alliance.

° In addition, Minister Kang shared with the US delegation the ongoing preparations for the ROK-US summit talks to come in a few days and asked the delegates to render strong support on the efforts to make a success of the ROK President’s visit to the US.

3. CSIS President John Hamre and the other delegates, calling the ROK-US alliance a kind of relationship in which the two countries share values and that brings benefits to their peoples, mentioned that the CSIS will take an active part in the efforts to make President Moon Jae-in’s visit to the US fruitful.

° President Hamre, pointing out that many developing countries take the ROK as a model of development, voiced hope that the ROK, as a a global leader, will take on a bigger role in the international community.

4. Minister Kang responded that the ROK, building on its steadfast alliance with the US, will continuously seek ways to broaden its diplomatic horizon and to contribute more actively to the international community.

5. Minister Kang’s meeting with the CSIS delegation on June 27, which came after her meeting with President Richard Haass of the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) the week before, is seen to have helped win broader support from the US for the efforts to advance the ROK-US alliance ahead of President Moon’s visit to the US.


* unofficial translation