1. On February 1, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with a US delegation, including former Representative Dan Burton, former Chairman Matt Salmon of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, former head delegate to the Six-Party Talks Christopher Hill, and former Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks Joseph DeTrani. In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the Republic of Korea-United States relations as well as nuclear and other issues of North Korea.

2. Minister Yun brought attention to the fact that the ROK and the US have been consulting closely with each other since late 2016, including during the series of visits to the US by high-level ROK officials and in the telephone conversation between the ROK’s acting President and President Trump on January 30. He asked the US to render active support for the ROK-US relations to further strengthen after the launch of the new US administration.

3. The Minister, calling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs a grave threat that must be resolved with urgency, stressed that the ROK and the US need to continue enforcing tough sanctions and putting pressure on the North while making efforts to beef up their combined defense posture and deterrence.

4. Former Congressman Burton, pointing out that the US very strongly supports the ROK-US alliance, shared the Minister’s view that the alliance should remain steadfast under the Trump administration. He added that as the US also views North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as a serious, direct threat, the ROK and the US need to respond actively to the threat.

5. The meeting between Minister Yun and the US delegation came as part of the ROK’s public diplomacy activities toward the US. As such, it is seen to have served as an opportunity to help Congress as well as the academic and media circles of the US learn more about main foreign and security policies of the ROK government and thereby to pave the way for cooperation with the new US administration.


* unofficial translation