1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul had a telephone conversation with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly on Thursday, February 8, at the latter’s request. Minister Joly extended her congratulations on Foreign Minister Cho’s inauguration. They exchanged views on the bilateral relationship, including a follow-up of the summit meetings, economic cooperation, international cooperation, and regional and global affairs.

2. The two Ministers appreciated that the bilateral relationship, which was upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of President Yoon Suk Yeol to Canada in September 2022, is evolving into the best possible cooperative relationship as the two countries celebrated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023. They agreed to further advance bilateral relations based on the achievements made by both countries.

3. As this year marks the inauguration of the “Year of Cultural Exchanges” and the “Youth Mobility MOU” between the Republic of Korea and Canada, the two Ministers agreed to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges further and promptly finalize the Action Plan to identify and implement concrete projects in the five key areas of bilateral cooperation, including defense cooperation, in order to implement the agreements reached between the two leaders. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the North Pacific.

4. Minister Cho expressed concerns about the threatening rhetoric and various provocations by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) since the beginning of the year. He emphasized that the military cooperation between the Russian Federation and the DPRK constitutes a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and that it should be ceased as it threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the world. In this regard, Minister Cho appreciated Canada's efforts, such as issuing statements condemning the DPRK’s provocations and monitoring illegal ship-to-ship transfer activities, to enhance compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions. Minister Joly mentioned that Canada supports Korea's denuclearization efforts and will continue to cooperate closely.

5. Minister Cho explained Korea's active pursuit of Global Pivotal State diplomacy and asked for Canada's interest and support for expanding cooperation between Korea and the G7. Minister Joly committed to readily cooperate with Korea, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2024-25 term and the host country of the third Summit for Democracy, and highlighted the unique opportunities for cooperation in 2025 when Korea and Canada will host the APEC Summit and the G7 Summit, respectively.