Press Briefing 
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 16, 2012 14:30 KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have three announcements to make.

The first announcement is on the 11th World Korean Business Convention.

The 11th World Korean Business Convention will take place in Seoul from October 16 to 18, with about 3,000 Korean businessmen from home and across the world.

The World Korean Business Convention is the biggest business festival, during which Korean businesspeople at home and abroad can build a network.

In its opening ceremony today, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik delivered a congratulatory address, and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan hosted a luncheon for the participants.

Various side events will be held in conjunction with the Convention, including a leading CEO forum, a young business leaders’ forum, a seminar on business networking, and a business exhibition.

Moving on to the second announcement, the 3rd Korea-Africa Forum will take place in Seoul on October 17, co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry and the African Union.

Some 200 delegates from Africa, including the President of Zambia, the Foreign Ministers and/or the Vice Foreign Ministers of 18 countries, will attend the Forum.

The Forum will deal with the three themes of “Development Cooperation,” “Trade and Investment,” and “Peace and Security,” as well as ways for the ROK and Africa to work more closely together.

Its opening ceremony will feature a celebratory performance by the “Rainbow,” a choir comprised of children from multicultural families.

On the sidelines of the Forum, ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan will meet bilaterally with the Foreign Ministers from nine African countries. Likewise, First Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from seven countries.

Lastly, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan will meet with the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Ms. Tawakkul Karman from Yemen, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient of 2011, will visit the Republic of Korea, and Foreign Minister Kim will meet with her on October 18.

In their meeting, Minister Kim and Ms. Karman will exchange views on Yemen’s democratization process and ways for the ROK to support this process. In addition, they will discuss the post-2015 Global Development Agendas in their official capacity as members of the High-Level Panel appointed by the UN Secretary-General.

As you may know, the post-2015 High-Level Panel is comprised of 26 members in total, and Minister Kim and Ms. Tawakkul Karman are both members of the Panel.

Also, the government of the ROK plans to contribute 500,000 US dollars, in addition to the 800,000 US dollars donated earlier this year, to Yemen for its economic development and the resolution of its humanitarian crisis.

This is all for my opening statement.

[Q&A]

Q: There appears to have been a ROK-US Strategic Dialogue earlier today. Please tell us what was discussed.

A: You must of course be highly interested in the outcome of the Dialogue, but I did not attend the meeting, which started in the morning and continued over the luncheon. So, I am not aware of the outcome of the meeting at this point. I expect that you will be briefed on the outcome later today.

Q: I understand that the issue of sexual slavery victims drafted for the Japanese military was brought up once again at a UN meeting. Was it raised as part of the Foreign Ministry’s continued efforts to address the issue, or for any other particular purposes or reasons?

A: It was not the first time that we have raised the issue of military sexual slavery victims at UN Third Committee meetings. We expressed our solemn position on this issue last year. And Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Shin Dong-ik raised it again this year in the similar manner. Although we have already informed you of the relevant specifics of this matter through a press release, I’d like to reiterate the following point one more time. As called upon by the ROK government time and again, the Japanese government should come to terms with the fact that the issue remains unsettled, acknowledge its legal responsibility and seek to resolve it in a way that is acceptable to the victims.

Q: My question relates to the arson attack on the Japanese Embassy in the ROK. The offender will have completed his sentence and be released from prison soon. What has been decided in terms of his extradition?

A: No decision has been made yet. The ROK government will decide on this, taking into account various factors, such as domestic and international laws and the humanitarian aspect.

* unofficial translation