1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul had a meeting and an official luncheon on May 15 with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Juraj Blanár, who was on an official visit to Korea from May 12 to 15. They had extensive discussions on various issues including bilateral relations, economic cooperation, cooperation in the international arena, and regional and global affairs.

2. Minister Cho expressed appreciation for Minister Blanár's contribution to the development of bilateral relations while serving as governor of the Žilina region (2005-2017), where many Korean companies are located. In addition, Minister Cho said he found it significant that active high-level exchanges between the two countries have been continuing since the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year.

3. Appreciating that the two countries have developed a win-win cooperative relationship, particularly in the economic sector, Minister Cho asked for Slovakia’s support for some 140 Korean companies operating in the country and expressed hope that the two countries’ close economic cooperation will further expand into various fields such as nuclear power plants and the defense industry.

4. In response, Minister Blanár said that Korea is Slovakia’s major cooperation partner in Asia and expressed hope for diversifying the close economic cooperation into research and development and new technology sectors, such as industrial robots, and further strengthening cooperation in the security area as well. In this context, Minister Blanár expressed desire to hold high-level visits and elevate the bilateral relations to the next level.

5. Minister Cho expressed deep concerns over North Korea's ongoing threatening rhetoric and provocations, such as launching a series of ballistic missiles, rejecting unification and defining inter-Korean relations as hostile and belligerent. Furthermore, expressing deep concerns about North Korea’s illegal military cooperation with Russia, which poses a threat to peace and security not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the world, Minister Cho emphasized that the ROK would respond resolutely to this together with the international community including Slovakia.

6. In response, Minister Blanár said that Slovakia is also closely watching developments in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. He underlined Slovakia’s support for peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula and its strong condemnation of any provocation by North Korea that threatens it. He further emphasized that Slovakia firmly supports the ROK’s unification vision and policy on North Korea. Additionally, Minister Blanár said that Slovakia would play its role by actively participating in the implementation of sanctions against North Korea.

7. Furthermore, the two ministers discussed cooperation in the Korea-Visegrad Group (V4: Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) and in the international arena such as the UN and NATO. They also shared concerns about the war in Ukraine and had an exchange of views on the need for continued support for Ukraine as well as on the situation in Northeast Asia.

8. Minister Blanár expressed Slovakia’s support for Korea's candidacy for the Human Rights Council for the term 2025-2027 and for the Committee on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICPPR) for the term 2025-2028. Minister Cho expressed gratitude for the support and asked to continue close cooperation on the international stage, including within the UN.

9. Minister Blanár’s visit to Korea was the first official visit by a Slovak foreign minister in 11 years since 2013, and is evaluated as an important opportunity to review Korea-Slovakia relations and seek ways to expand substantive cooperation.