1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will visit Belgium and France from October 19 to 24. During the visit, Minister Kang will meet with her Belgian and EU counterparts, and hold the second ROK-France Foreign Ministers’ strategic dialogue.

2. In her meeting with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders on the morning of October 20, Minister Kang will discuss ways to expand substantive cooperation between the two countries (trade and investment, science and technology, education and culture, and high-level officials’ attendance at the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games), and to strengthen cooperation on regional and global issues, including cooperation to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

3. Minister Kang will have a luncheon meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on the afternoon of October 20. The two sides will engage in an extensive discussion on ways to strengthen the ROK-EU strategic partnership and to work together on regional and global issues, including the North Korean nuclear issue.

4. On October 23, Minister Kang will hold the second ROK-France Foreign Ministers’ strategic dialogue with her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris. The two sides will have an in-depth discussion on ways to advance the ROK-France relations (facilitation of ministerial-level mechanisms for consultations on foreign, defense, economic, educational and scientific affairs, cooperation between provincial governments, cooperation between startups, cultural and tourism cooperation, and support for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games); the North Korean nuclear issue and the situations in Europe and the Middle East; and ways to cooperate on global issues, including climate change.

5. The visit by Minister Kang, which will mark the first visit to Europe since her inauguration, is expected to serve as an opportunity to work together with the EU and its key members to resolve North Korean issues, including its nuclear issue, to deepen the ROK’s strategic partnerships with Belgium, the EU and France, and to further promote the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.


* unofficial translation