Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 18, 2012 14:30 KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

I will begin with the position of the government of the Republic of Korea on the visit of two Japanese ministers to the Yasukuni Shrine today.

The ROK government deems deeply regrettable the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by the Japanese politicians, including the incumbent Cabinet members. That is an irresponsible act that ignores the sentiment of the peoples of Japan’s neighboring countries that suffered from the country’s imperialism in the past.

The ROK government once again calls on Japanese politicians in responsible positions to squarely face history with a humble attitude.

I will now make four announcements and then take your questions.

First, the Agreement on the Establishment of the Global Green Growth (GGGI) Institute entered into force today, and formally launched the GGGI as an official international organization approximately two years after its establishment as one of the ROK’s non-profit foundations.

The GGGI will hold its inaugural plenary session and board meeting in Seoul on October 23 and 24, during which it will set up its organization structure by electing the member countries for its council and the chairman.

The aforementioned meetings will bring together GGGI Chairman Lars Lokke Rasmussen and ministerial-level delegates from the body’s 18 member countries.

The GGGI’s opening ceremony will be held right before the plenary session with some 300 people, including diplomats stationed in the ROK and delegates from international organizations.

We hope that the GGGI, as an official international organization, will play an active part in spreading a green growth paradigm across the world and in supporting developing countries with their efforts to draw up a green growth policy.

Moving on to the second announcement, the ROK government has decided to provide humanitarian assistance worth 50,000 US dollars to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where frequent hurricanes have incurred human injuries and property damages.

The aforementioned contribution will be used to provide emergency relief equipments, such as power generators and roof coverings, to prepare against future hurricanes.

The next announcement is on the Deputy Minister’s participation in the Meeting of the International Contact Group on Afghanistan.

MOFAT’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Kyou-hyun will attend the Meeting of the International Contact Group on Afghanistan Ankara, Turkey, on October 19.

The meeting will be attended by delegates from some 50 countries that are involved in the reconstruction and stabilization process of Afghanistan and international organizations, including the UN and NATO.

The participants of the meeting will focus on ways to enhance regional cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighboring countries and to eradicate drug production and trafficking in Afghanistan.

The last announcement is on the election of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The election of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2013-2014 term that the ROK runs for will be held on Thursday, October 18 at 10 a.m. local time, and 11 p.m. Korea Standard Time, in the UN headquarters in New York.

The ROK which served one 1996-1997 term on the UN Security Council has been making its best efforts to re-join the body and is looking forward to a positive result.

This is all for my opening statement.

[Q&A]

Q: What percent chance do you think the ROK has of rejoining the UN Security Council?

A: I would like to give you a definite answer, but it is difficult for me to specify the percentage at this point. We will do our best till the very last moment to see a good result.

Q: In case the ROK wins the election and rejoins the Security Council, what implication would you say it carries?

A: As you may well know, the UN Security Council is playing a very crucial role in maintaining and promoting world peace.

So, the accession of the ROK to the Security Council will mean that it will assume an important role in keeping and promoting world peace, which includes the peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Therefore, if the ROK is elected as a member of the Council, the government will make its utmost efforts to promote world peace and seek peaceful resolutions to key global issues referred to the Security Council.

Q: With regard to the death of a Chinese fisherman, have there been any additional notifications from the Chinese Embassy or its Foreign Ministry on the position of the Chinese government?

A: The Foreign Ministry of China expressed its position on the incident through the ROK Embassy in China on the day of the accident. And as you may know, the Spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry expressed its position on the case, which I saw in press reports yesterday. The announced position is the same as the reported one. There have since been no additional messages from the Chinese government.

Since you mentioned the case, I would like to make a few comments.

First of all, the death of a Chinese fisherman in the process of cracking down on illegal fishing is very regrettable, regardless of who is to blame.

We offer our deepest condolences and consolations to the bereaved family over the death of the fisherman.

The latest case was an accident, which occurred as Korea Coast Guard officers were enforcing law against vehemently resisting fishermen who were engaged in illegal fishing operations. So, what is needed is to conduct a thorough probe into the case and to handle it in a serene and level-headed manner based on the outcome of the investigation.

The ROK and China are mutually important neighbors in a strategic and cooperative partnership.

Such accidents as the latest should not lead to any antagonism or any other tensions between the peoples of the two countries.

In this vein, instead of prejudging the Korea Coast Guard’s crackdown on illegal fishing operations as violent law enforcement, we should wait for the outcome of the thorough investigation and then take necessary measures in a serene manner.

In the midst of past crackdowns on illegally fishing vessels, two Korea Coast Guard officers were killed and many others were injured. The same goes for Chinese fishermen.

What is called for at this point is to handle the latest case in a calm and reasonable manner and come up with more fundamental solutions to the illegal fishing issue in a bid to prevent such cases from recurring. We look forward to China’s cooperation on this.

Q: You expressed condolences moments ago. Does the Foreign Minister have any plan to extend condolences in person?

A: I have not been informed of such a plan, yet.

Q: The sentence of the Chinese who threw a firebomb at the Japanese Embassy in the ROK is due to expire soon. To my knowledge, China and Japan both request his extradition. What is the official position of the Foreign Ministry on this matter?

A: I answered the same question in several previous briefings. We view this as an issue for the Ministry of Justice to decide on by taking into account various factors, such as domestic and international laws and the humanitarian aspect.

Thank you.

* unofficial translation