1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom over the phone on July 22. In the telephone conversation, Secretary Johnson offered congratulations to Minister Kang on taking office and voiced hope that they will communicate closely with each other to seek closer relations between the Republic of Korea and the UK.

° Minister Kang extended to Secretary an invitation to the ROK, to which Secretary Johnson expressed appreciation. The two top diplomats agreed to meet with each other as often as possible, including on the sidelines of multilateral events, for discussions on matters of mutual concern.

2. The Minister and the Secretary manifested satisfaction with the steady progress in the ROK-UK ties in various sectors, including economy, trade, finance, science, technology, and national defense and relevant industry, and agreed to further step up close cooperation.

° The two top diplomats drew a common understanding that the UK, a country with technology for and experiences in decommissioning nuclear power plants, and the ROK, which has the capacity to build and manage nuclear power plants, could be good partners in the nuclear power plant area, and agreed to remain cooperative with each other in the field.

3. With regard to the accident of the Stellar Daisy vessel, Minister Kang extended appreciation to the UK government for its cooperation in the search operations, including on islands southeast of the accident site and using satellites of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). On that note, she requested that another round of search operations be conducted amid the possibility of the still-missing lifeboat having drifted along on the ocean currents to Ascension, Saint Helena or other islands northeast of the accident site.

° Secretary Johnson responded that considering the ROK government’s request, the UK government will do what it can, and that he will share with Minister Kang the result of the operations, as soon as there is any.

4. In answer to Secretary Johnson’s question about the ROK government’s policy direction on North Korea, Minister Kang mentioned that in response to North Korean provocations, the ROK government will keep its pressure and sanctions in place in close coordination with the international community. She added that the ultimate purpose of the sanctions and pressure being to induce North Korea to change its attitude and to come forward to denuclearization talk, the ROK government will continue implementing its engagement policy toward the North.

° The Minister and the Secretary, sharing the view that the ROK-UK relations are developing into a quasi-alliance, agreed to maintain close communication in a bid to seek a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.


* unofficial translation