1. On July 20, First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam met with Lord Mayor Jeffrey Evans of the City of London, who was on a visit to the Republic of Korea.

2. Vice Minister Lim expressed hope that the uncertainties triggered by the UK decision to withdraw from the EU will be resolved as soon as possible and that the ROK-UK relations will move stably forward. In particular, he stressed that continued efforts should be made to resolve such international issues as those concerning North Korea and the Middle East.

° Lord Evans stated that as the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office had already reiterated on numerous occasions, the UK government, regardless of Brexit, will continue steadfast coordination with the ROK government against North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and further step up substantive cooperation with the ROK.

° In addition, Lord Evans expressed his confidence that globally competitive Korean shipbuilders will overcome their current difficulties, and hope that the ROK and the UK will continue increasing cooperation in shipbuilding.

3. The governments of the ROK and the UK have been reaffirming their commitment to boost their cooperation since the UK decided on June 23 to leave the EU. The meeting on July 20 served as an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of the ROK and the City of London, the world’s leading financial hub that is spearheading financial and economic cooperation between the UK and other countries, to step up substantive cooperation.

4. On a side note, Vice Minister Lim received a “Freedom of the City of London,” an honorary award conferred by the City of London, in November 2014 in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the ROK-UK cooperation, including during President Park Geun-hye’s state visit in November 2013, while in service as the then ROK Ambassador to the UK.


* unofficial translation