1. On March 15, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Foreign Minister Mgwagwa Gamedze of Swaziland, who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea from March 13 to 15 in his capacity as special envoy of King Mswati III. In their meeting, the two top diplomats exchanged views on ways to increase people-to-people exchanges, promote economic and development cooperation, and work together on the international stage.

2. Minister Yun brought attention to the fact that the incumbent ROK government, since its launch in 2013 and with the support of the public sector and the National Assembly, has been seeking to forge mutually beneficial partnership for co-prosperity with Africa in order to strengthen its diplomacy toward the continent. He voiced hope that the ROK and Swaziland will work together to that end.

3. Minister Gamedze noted with appreciation that the visits to the ROK in recent years by high-level figures of Swaziland, including the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and members of the royal family, had played a role in bringing the two countries closer together. The Minister, expressing satisfaction with the development of the bilateral friendship since the establishment of the diplomatic relations in 1968, stated that active efforts will be made to promote people-to-people exchanges and the bilateral relations.

4. The two Ministers agreed to step up cooperation to boost bilateral trade and investment as well as in the ROK’s strong sectors of education, state-of-the-art technology and information technology.

5. Minister Gamedze expressed deep concern over the recent nuclear and missile provocations by North Korea as well as full support for the recently adopted UN Security Council Resolution 2270. He added that under the current circumstances, sanctioning North Korea is the only way to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons development and thereby to ease the tension and achieve peace and stability in the region.

6. Minister Yun, extending appreciation to the Swazi government for support for Resolution 2270, noted that the entire international community is condemning North Korea for repeatedly launching nuclear and missile provocations and violating the UN Charter. He added that the Swazi government’s support for the resolution will send to North Korea a very strong message that it should refrain from launching further nuclear and missile provocations and taking tense-escalating actions.

7. In their meeting, the two Ministers agreed to continuously enhance the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries, as they have been since the establishment of the diplomatic relations in 1968. Accordingly, the meeting is expected to lead to more advances in bilateral ties.


* unofficial translation