1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Lee Jeong-kyu visited Singapore on July 18 and held the first Republic of Korea-Singapore high-level policy consultation with Deputy Secretary Ng Teck Hean of the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the meeting, the two ranking diplomats extensively exchanged views on the ROK-Singapore relations; the North Korean nuclear issue and the situation on the Korean Peninsula; and ways to step up ROK-ASEAN cooperation.

2. Deputy Minister Lee explained the significance of his visit to Singapore as part of the efforts to implement the ROK government’s policy to broaden its diplomatic horizon through closer relations with ASEAN, citing as an example of such efforts the dispatch of the first-ever special envoy of the President to ASEAN on the heels of the launch of the new ROK government. He went on to say that also as part of such efforts, the ROK had set up the policy consultation mechanism with Singapore, one of the major members of ASEAN and its chair country for 2018, and that hence came its inaugural round.

° In response, Deputy Secretary Ng, hailing the ROK government’s plan to enhance its relations with the ASEAN countries, mentioned that strong cooperation will be rendered to the ROK on such efforts.

3. The Deputy Minister and the Deputy Secretary stressed that it is important for their countries with such shared values as democracy and market economy to engage robustly in high-level exchanges and seek out areas for future cooperation in a bid to further tighten their already close cooperative ties.

° In particular, the two sides forecast that outstanding technology and experiences of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the ROK and overseas networks and financing capacity of Singapore, when combined in a mutually complementary manner, will help the two countries jointly build presence in markets of third countries and thereby help create jobs.

° Deputy Minister Lee, taking note of Singapore’s “smart nation” state policy in place in preparation for the fourth industrial revolution, suggested that as the ROK has global competitiveness as can be seen from its exports of smart cities, the relevant government agencies of the two countries hold consultations to seek tangible cooperation projects in the field.

° In addition, with regard to the Singapore-Malaysia high-speed rail project, the Deputy Minister, stressing that the ROK’s high-speed rail system ranked first in terms of the safety standards set by the International Union of Railways (UIC) and on-time performance, asked Singapore to remain attentive to bids of relevant Korean companies to take part in the Singapore-Malaysia project. Deputy Secretary Ng, hailing the possible participation of capable Korean companies in the high-speed rail project, mentioned that the participants in the Singapore-Malaysia project will be chosen through a competitive bidding and a transparent evaluation process.

4. With respect to the North Korean nuclear issue, the two sides, both calling North Korea’s missile launch on July 4 a security threat to not only the Korean Peninsula but Northeast Asia, agreed to seek ways to work closely together, including at the ASEAN-related foreign ministerial meetings, in a bid to achieve the denuclearization and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

° Deputy Minister Lee, bringing attention to the ROK government’s plan to play a leading role in the efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula as a party concerned, spoke in detail about the ROK President’s address in Berlin in June, in which he had sent a tough warning message to North Korea over its provocations; urged the North to resume denuclearization dialogue and to help build peace; and put forward an initiative for improved inter-Korean relations as well as for peace on and the unification of the Korean Peninsula -- an initiative that calls for a fundamental resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula on the back of the pursuit of peace, denuclearization, a peace regime, a new economic map and non-political exchanges and cooperation, as well as for reunions of families separated during the Korean War and inter-Korean contacts and dialogue.

5. The first policy consultation with the leading member of ASEAN and the ROK’s like-minded country on regional and global issues is seen to have served as an opportunity to enhance cooperative ties on the bilateral level and at ASEAN, and to have paved the way for closer bilateral cooperation at the ASEAN-related foreign ministerial meetings to take place in early August.

° Deputy Minister Lee pointed out that the ROK, which will open an ASEAN Culture House on September 1 in the first such move by an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, is seeking specific ways to strengthen its relations with ASEAN. Deputy Secretary Ng, commending the ROK government for such efforts, suggested promoting cooperation between SMEs of the two countries and on the “smart nation” policy; and seeking out areas for tangible cooperation that can bring benefits to other ASEAN countries as well.

6. On July 19, Deputy Minister Lee attended the third ROK-Singapore forum titled “A New-Age Partnership for a World Transition,” where he delivered a keynote speech on the direction of the ROK government’s policy toward North Korea and ways to strengthen the ROK’s relations with ASEAN.

※ The ROK-Singapore forum is a platform for free discussions among government officials and scholars of the two countries on regional and global political issues. The forum, co-hosted by the Korea Foundation and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), was first held in Singapore in August 2013, followed by the second in Seoul in August 2015.


* unofficial translation