1. On November 1, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged in-depth views on the North Korean nuclear and missile issues as well as the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia; and ways for the ROK and NATO to work together on global security issues.

※ Secretary-General Stoltenberg’s visit to the ROK marks the second of its kind by a NATO Secretary-General after the one in April 2013 by then NATO Secretary-General Rasmussen.

- Secretary-General Stoltenberg paid a visit to the ROK in March 2012 during his service as Prime Minister of Norway to attend a Nuclear Security Summit. During his service as Minister of Industry from 1991 till 1993, he made another visit to the ROK for a tour of shipyards, among others.

※ The Secretary-General’s schedule in the ROK mainly included attending a working luncheon hosted by National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, holding a meeting and a dinner with the Foreign Minister, laying a wreath at a National Cemetery, visiting the truce village of Panmunjeom, attending a roundtable hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, and holding a press conference for local and foreign correspondents.

2. [ROK-NATO cooperation] Minister Kang noted with appreciation that since the ROK became one of NATO’s Global Partners in 2006, the two sides have been working increasingly closely together, including by holding the annual policy consultation since 2008 to seek ways to jointly address new and other main international security issues; in the military sector through training observations and educational exchanges; and through high-level exchanges. She voiced hope that the two sides will work more closely together under the “Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme,” which was revised during the Secretary-General’s visit to the ROK.

° On the heels of their meeting, the Minister and the Secretary-General signed the revised bilateral “Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP),” a document in which basic principles and main areas for the ROK-NATO cooperation are stipulated.

3. Secretary-General Stoltenberg, expressing satisfaction with the growth of the ROK-NATO cooperation in various sectors over the past ten years, extended appreciation to the ROK particularly for its active cooperation in the NATO-led efforts to respond to terrorism and thereby to achieve stabilization in Afghanistan. He went on to voice hope that the ROK and NATO will see bilateral cooperation further increase in cyber space, terrorism, maritime security, non-proliferation and various other fields.

4. [North Korean nuclear and missile issues] Minister Kang mentioned that with North Korea rapidly advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, the North Korean nuclear and missile programs are turning into a grave security threat to not only Northeast Asia but also the global community. On that note, underscoring the need for the international community to be united in responding sternly to the issue, she extended appreciation to NATO for rendering strong support to the ROK government on the latter’s position, including by issuing a statement of condemnation in response to each and every nuclear and missile provocation by North Korea.

° The Minister, saying that experience of NATO as a successful regional security mechanism demonstrates that peace and security are achievable only with the support of ironclad military deterrence, expressed hope for a closer cooperation with NATO in responding to continued nuclear and missile provocations by North Korea.

※ NATO has issued a total of 27 statements of condemnation in response to North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006 and other nuclear and missile provocations that followed.

5. Minister Kang, saying that the ultimate goal of sanctions and pressure is to bring North Korea to denuclearization talks and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula, underscored that it is important to impose increasingly strong sanctions and pressure on the North in response to its provocations, and at the same time, to repeatedly send to the North the message that if and when it chooses the right path, it will be guaranteed a bright future.

° In addition, the Minister voiced hope that the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will help create a peacefu aura and build momentum toward eased tensions on the Korean Peninsula and for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.

6. Secretary-General Stoltenberg, sharing the Minister’s view on the North Korean nuclear and missile developments as a serious threat to security not only on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia but also in the entire global community, shared with the Minister his opinion that political and diplomatic pressure, and particularly sanctions, are the most useful and realistic approach. He went on to stress that in order for the sanctions to yield positive effect, the international community should faithfully and thoroughly enforce the sanctions.

° The Secretary-General, highlighting the importance of China and Russia’s role in the efforts to render the sanctions effective and thereby resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issues, expressed support for the ROK government’s position calling for resolving the issues in a peace manner through sanctions, pressure and dialogue.

7. The ROK and NATO are global partners that share such values as freedom, democracy and human rights, as well as experience of fighting to safeguard freedom -- NATO in the North Atlantic region and the ROK in Northeast Asia. Secretary-General Stoltenberg’s visit to the ROK is seen to have served as an opportunity to pave the way for increased substantive bilateral cooperation and to further step up bilateral coordination under grave circumstances on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of a series of nuclear and missile provocations by North Korea.


* unofficial translation