Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 11, 2012 14:30 KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

This afternoon, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan visited Asan Medical Center where Jang Moon-jeong and Kim Young-woo, who passed away in an unfortunate accident in Sri Lanka, are laid, and offered his deepest condolences and consolations to their bereaved families.
As Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, I would like to offer deep condolences and consolations to the families as well.
I have four more announcements to make.

My first announcement is on the 4th Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the United States.

The 4th ROK-US Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue will be held in the Foreign Ministry on Oct 16 from 11 a.m., with First Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns as head delegates of the respective countries.

At the Dialogue, the two sides will exchange views on the future direction of the ROK-US strategic alliance, and key regional situations including that of North Korea, among others. The initial part of the Dialogue will be open to journalists.
Moving on to the second announcement, a trilateral high-level consultation among the ROK, the US and Japan will take place in Japan on October 17.

Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lim Sung-nam will visit Japan to attend the meeting, which will also be attended by US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies and Japanese Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama.

In their high-level meeting, the three countries will assess the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss North Korea issues, including its nuclear development, building upon the outcome of the trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in September.

After the meeting, US Special Representative Davies will visit the ROK from October 18 through 20 as part of his Northeast Asian tour.

During his visit to the ROK, Special Representative Davies will meet with Special Representative Lim and other government officials to exchange views on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and the North Korean nuclear issue.

The next announcement is on our plan to hold a Korea-Central Asia Caravan in a bid to enhance cooperation between the ROK and Central Asian countries.

The Foreign Ministry held its first ROK-Central Asia Caravan in Kazakhstan last year in order to boost cooperation with Central Asian countries.

This year, the 2nd Caravan will be held from October 15 to 19 in three cities of Kazakstan-Tashkent, Jizak, and Samarqand.

The main goal of the event is to promote cooperation in the agricultural sector. Its key side events will include a meeting on agricultural technology, an exhibition of agricultural equipment, the 1st ROK-Uzbekistan Forum, and a Korean film festival.

The ROK delegation will be headed by Lee Wook-heon, Director-general for European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and be comprised of officials from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry and Fisheries, and Gyeonggi-do as well as civilians from business and academic circles.

Lastly, the Foreign Ministry and Arirang World will sign a memorandum of understanding.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan and President Sohn Jie-ae of Arirang World, will sign the MOU on mutual cooperation between the two organizations at the Foreign Ministry, on Oct 15.

The MOU will mainly call for cooperation of the two agencies in the areas of the production and utilization of public diplomacy media contents, exchange of information through overseas diplomatic missions, and the international media business, etc.

We hope that MOU will help promote Korean culture and values more effectively, thereby contributing to realization of a “global Korea”.

This is all for my opening statement.

[Q&A]

Q: North Korea keeps condemning our revised Missile Guidelines. Yesterday evening, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson made an announcement indicating that it could launch a long-range missile in response. What is the government’s position on this?

Also, please tell us whether the ROK, US and Japanese head delegates to the Six-party Talks, in their meeting, will issue a message to North Korea in this regard.

A: As we have announced before, the revision of our Missile Guidelines was intended to secure the minimum defense mechanism to protect ourselves from North Korea’s missile threats. We would like to emphasize this once again.

And it is hard for me to say right now what conclusion, statement, or announcement will be produced from the upcoming meeting among the three head delegates.

Q: A Japanese court has ordered to make public some of the documents on the ROK-Japan Claims Settlement Agreement. What are the ROK government’s current and possible future positions on this verdict?

A: I couldn’t quite understand your second question.

Q: What position or moves will the ROK government take toward Japan with regard to this ruling? What, in the view of the ROK government, is the significance of the ruling?

A: First of all, I want to make sure that the matter of disclosing diplomatic documents is up to each country to decide on. So we will not make any official comments on this.

However, I do think that the peoples of the two countries will be better able to understand the process of normalizing diplomatic ties between the ROK and Japan when these diplomatic documents are made public.

In terms of your second question, as I have just said, it is up to Japan to decide whether or not to release its documents. In this vein, the ROK government has no plan at this point to take any action in response to this ruling.

Q: The documents whose release the Japanese court ordered today are said to be related to the ROK-Japan Basic Relations Treaty. I would like to know whether the documents include those concerning the Claims Settlement Agreement.

A: Such details have not been confirmed yet.

Q: You have just mentioned that the documents, when disclosed, would hopefully help the peoples of the two countries better understand the process of the normalization of the relations between their countries. Are you indicating that the issue of military sexual slavery victims was not addressed in that normalization process?

A: No, I’m not. I was just voicing my opinion that in general more information could help get a clearer picture.

Q: With regard to the ROK-Japan Claims Settlement Agreement, Japan insists that there is no need to further discuss the issues concerning the military sexual slavery victims, forcibly mobilized laborers and compensations for them, as these issues were completely resolved under the agreement. But, I understand that the ROK government takes a different stance from that of Japan with regard to theses issues. Which of those issues, if any, is the ROK government currently negotiating on or discussing with the Japanese government?

A: You must be well aware that in obedience to the ruling of the ROK Constitutional Court the ROK government unequivocally holds the position that the issue of military sexual slavery victims has not been resolved under the Claims Settlement Agreement. Besides, the ROK government has continuously called on Japan to resolve this issue through consultation. We once again urge the country to accept our request for talks as soon as possible.

Q: You said that after the trilateral meeting among the ROK, the US and Japan in Japan, US Special Representative Davies will visit the ROK as part of his Northeast Asian tour, right?

I would like to ask you whether his Northeast Asian tour will also take him to China and Russia. In addition, please tell us about his schedule and agenda to be discussed in the ROK, as he will already have met with his ROK and Japanese counterparts.

A: Basically, it is up to the US to give details on Special Representative Davies’ schedule.

I can tell you, though, that he has a plan to visit China. As I have already said, during his visit to the ROK, he will meet with the ROK’s head delegate to the Six-party Talks Lim Sung-nam for more detailed discussions. Although it has yet to be decided, he will probably meet with other Foreign Ministry officials.

Q: US presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that he supports the Six-party Talks but that North Korea should be prevented from misusing the Talks. What does the Foreign Ministry make of his comments?

A: Who said that?

Q: US presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s camp did. What does the Foreign Ministry make of those comments?

A: I deem it inappropriate for the ROK government, including the Foreign Ministry, to officially comment on views of electoral candidates of other countries.

Q: Going back to one of the previous topics, do you expect that the order of the Japanese court to disclose documents, when followed through, will contribute to the settlement of the issue between the two countries regarding military sexual slavery victims?

A: Having seen the press report only today, we would be able to answer your question only after we learn more about it.

Q: I have one further question. You said that there will be a vice-ministerial meeting between the ROK and the US on October 16, which will deal with North Korea issues. There will be a ROK-US-Japan meeting on the 17th, which will also address the current situation on the Korean Peninsula. During US Special Representative Davies’ visit to the ROK, similar issues will likely be discussed. Will he discuss a different range of topics from those to be dealt with at the other two earlier meetings?

A: As I said, the meeting among the ROK, US and Japanese head delegates to the Six-party Talks has been arranged to discuss North Korea issues, including its nuclear development. In contrast, the vice-ministerial meeting between the ROK and US, as it is a strategic dialogue, will deal with a wider range of matters, which, of course, includes issues concerning the Korean Peninsula.

I will conclude today’s briefing, if you have no further questions. Thank you.


*unofficial translation