1. During his visit to New York to attend the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met bilaterally with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias at the UN headquarters on September 19. In their meeting, the two top diplomats extensively discussed the Republic of Korea-Greece relations, the North Korean nuclear issue and ways to work together on the international stage.

2. With the year 2016 marking the 55th anniversary of the ROK-Greece diplomatic relations, Minister Yun took note of steady advances in the friendly and cooperative ties between the ROK and Greece, one of the ROK’s long-standing allies.

° In particular, Minister Yun, expressing satisfaction with the growing bilateral trade in 2016 despite the global economic slowdown, voiced hope that the trend will continue and that mutually beneficial cooperation will increase in not only maritime transport and shipbuilding, areas where Greece is a global powerhouse, but also information and communications technology (ICT), energy and infrastructure, sectors the Greek government is focused on.

° Minister Kotzias, calling the foreign ministerial meeting, which came after the visit of President Karolos Papoulias to the ROK in December 2013, an opportunity to reaffirm the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries, voiced hope for closer cooperation in trade, science, technology and tourism as well as more robust people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

3. With regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Minister Yun extended appreciation to the Greek government for issuing a statement of condemnation on the heels of North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, and asked Greece to take part in the international efforts to send a stern message and in the EU’s efforts to enforce even tougher sanctions and take diplomatic measures in response to North Korea’s nuclear threat.

° Minister Kotzias, reaffirming the firm support of the Greek government for the ROK government’s position on the nuclear and other issues of North Korea, mentioned the Greek government’s plan to make efforts at the EU and on other international stages to make an even stronger and swifter response to repeated provocations by North Korea.

4. Minister Yun commended Greece for the full range of the efforts the country is making at the forefront of the refugee crisis in Europe, adding that the ROK government is taking part in addressing the international refugee issue, including by rendering assistance to refugees in Greece. Minister Kotzias commended the ROK government for its attention to the issue and its participation in the efforts to resolve it.

5. The ROK-Greece meeting, which came in the year marking the 55th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, is seen to have served as an opportunity to tighten the bond; step up coordination on North Korea; and increase substantive cooperation with Greece, one of the ROK’s allies that had fought alongside the ROK in the Korean War, in not only maritime transport and shipbuilding, the main sectors of cooperation between the two countries, but also ICT, infrastructure, science, technology, and people-to-people exchanges.


* unofficial translation