Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 10, 2013 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have three announcements to make.

First, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano will visit the Republic of Korea from October 13 through 16.

During the visit, he will meet with ROK government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and the Chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. He will also attend the 2013 World Energy Congress to take place in the city of Daegu.

As you know, the IAEA is the international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and nuclear non-proliferation.

The upcoming visit by Director-General Amano is expected to serve as a good opportunity to strengthen the ROK-IAEA cooperation on the North Korean nuclear issue, nuclear safety and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Moving on to the second announcement, former Peace Corps Volunteers, who previously undertook volunteer work in the ROK, and their families, 83 in total, will visit the ROK from October 13 through 19 at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry and the Korea Foundation.

For your information, some 2,000 Peace Corps Volunteers undertook activities in English language education, public healthcare and vocational training in the ROK from the year 1966 till the year 1981.

During their visit, the former members of the Peace Corps will revisit the region of their past mission to witness the ROK’s development.

They will also be briefed on the education and public healthcare in the ROK and make a tour of relevant modernized facilities.

Their schedule in the country will also include a courtesy call on the Speaker of the National Assembly; a reception to be hosted by the Foreign Ministry; a dinner to be hosted by the Korea Foundation; and cultural events.

The reception to be hosted by the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo, in particular, will be attended by not only the visiting Peace Corps Volunteers but also former volunteers who still reside in the ROK as well as former US Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens.

As you may be aware, former Ambassador Stephens carried out volunteer work in Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong Province) in 1975-1977.

The Foreign Ministry has been conducting a five-year (2009-2013) invitation program for former Peace Corps Volunteers following the pilot program in 2008. The program was launched to appreciate the hard work and contribution of the Peace Corps Volunteers in the ROK and vitalize people-to-people exchanges between the ROK and the US.

Lastly, the Foreign Ministry will hold the first workshop of the Scholars Group for Public Diplomacy in Seoul on October 11 under the theme: “Creativity is a long tradition, a culture and a life to Korea.”

To be more specific, the workshop will take place at Shilla Hotel, Seoul, at 10:00-14:00 on Friday, October 11.

As I told you the other day, the Scholars Group, launched in January, is composed of 16 foreign scholars who are working at colleges in the ROK and were appointed as honorary envoys for public diplomacy.

At the forthcoming workshop, professor Emanuel Pastreich of Kyung Hee University will deliver a presentation on “Korea’s creativity experienced by foreigners, while professor Kim Hee-jae of Chugye Art University and head of the Korea Culture Contents Institute Shin Kwang-cheol will on “creativity in Korea’s traditional culture.”

From the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Ma Young-sam and Director-General for Cultural Affairs Hahn Choong-hee will attend the event.

The Ministry will consider having opinions to be presented at the workshop reflected in drawing up and implementing its public diplomacy strategies.

This is all for my opening statement.


[Q&A]

Q: I have two questions. According to Korean press reports today, Japan’s view of history was raised in the ROK-China summit held on October 7. Please tell us whether this is true.

A: I understand that the content of the ROK-China summit has already been released to the press in Brunei.

I don’t have any details other than that at this time. So, I have nothing more to share with you.

Q: My other question concerns the agreement reached at the ASEAN-ROK summit to start holding security dialogue.

According to Korean press reports, the security dialogue will cover the North Korean nuclear issue, which is an important issue to the ROK. Meanwhile, to my knowledge, ASEAN member states are more interested in the issue of legally binding code of conduct and/or the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Will those issues be also discussed in the ASEAN-ROK security dialogue? Please share with us the ROK government’s position on those issues.

A: The ROK and ASEAN have agreed to establish a security dialogue.

I understand that it will mark the first such dialogue for ASEAN to hold with a non-ASEAN country.

As for matters to be raised in the ASEAN-ROK security dialogue, I deem it premature to discuss them today.

As its name implies, the security dialogue will obviously cover security issues important to both sides. Anyway, I believe its specific agenda will be set just before the meeting.

Q: I would like to know about the ROK government’s position on the aforementioned issues.

A: It is my understanding that the countries involved in the South China Sea issue have some matters that they don’t agree on. The ROK government expects their differences to be resolved in a smooth manner through dialogue.

By the way, I believe that the freedom of navigation is a principle guaranteed under the relevant international law.

Q: Two government leaders of Japan will purportedly visit the Yasukuni Shrine to attend its Annual Autumn Festival. What does the ROK government make of this plan?

A: The ROK government has reiterated on numerous occasions its firm position that responsible leaders of Japan should not pay respects at the Yasukuni Shrine.

Let me repeat that position once again: The visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by responsible political leaders of Japan not only strain the ROK-Japan relations but also pose enormous difficulties in stable development of ties with its neighboring countries, which would not be beneficial to Japan itself. In this light, the ROK government calls on Japan’s leaders not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine and prevent that from happening.

Q: According to the data submitted to lawmaker Shim Jae-kwon, 130 children of diplomats hold dual citizenships, with 118 out of them possessing US citizenships. Children of the diplomats to the US whose names are included in the Diplomatic List of the US Department of State, even if born in the US, are not granted US citizenship under the US immigration law. Lawmaker Shim Jae-kwon took issue with the large number of children of ROK diplomats who possess dual citizenships.

A: When children are born to diplomats while they are in the US for education or service at a consulate general, not the embassy, they are granted US citizenships in accordance with the territorial principle under US law.

Diplomats, after joining the Foreign Ministry, go abroad for further studies. Around this time, many of them get married and have children. I think that explains why their children hold dual citizenships.

Q: I have a further question. Of course, their children could happen to be born while diplomats are overseas for education. But I have heard that many intentionally give birth to their children while overseas.

I have also heard that some diplomats deliberately timed the births of their children for them to be born overseas. If diplomats actually do this, isn’t it problematic? What do you make of the whole situation?

A: I think we should look further into such cases. I don’t know much about each such case. It would be better for me to get to the bottom of such cases and then let you know about them.

Q: According a Japanese press report, with regard to the ROK’s ban on fisheries imports from Japan, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se mentioned in the latest ROK-Japan Foreign Ministers’ meeting that the ban could be lifted when the ROK people’s fears over the imports are eliminated.

I would like to know whether he indeed made those remarks at the meeting. I have another question. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga said in a press conference earlier today that Japan could consider conducting a joint investigation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on radioactive water issue. What do you make of Secretary Suga’s remarks?

Q: On your first question, the ROK government has delivered its position to the Japanese side through various channels that in order to lift the ROK’s import ban on fisheries products from Japan, it is urgent for the Japanese government to resolve the issue of contaminated water leaking out from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and remove the concerns of peoples in neighboring countries.

On the second question, I don’t think the joint investigation by the Japanese government and the IAEA is an issue that the ROK government can comment on here.

What I mean is that it is important for the Japanese government to resolve the contaminated water issue and dispel the concerns of peoples in neighboring countries and that the ROK government will not comment on how the Japanese side can do so.

Q: On the North Korean and Chinese requests to resume the Six-party Talks, the ROK and the US are jointly demanding that sincere actions by North Korea be a precondition for the Talks. Recently, the US-North Korea track-1.5 dialogue was held and US Secretary of State Kerry mentioned a non-aggression pact between the US and North Korea. After these developments, some are speculating that the US and North Korea could start dialogue. If the two countries hold direct dialogue, the ROK could lose its leadership in the North Korean nuclear issue or Korean Peninsula issues. I’d like to know the government’s position on this and how it will respond.

In addition, the ROK government is seeking to deter North Korea’s nuclear threat by developing a kill chain system and the Korea Air and Missile Defense System. This is important of course, but some argue that it would be better to resume the Six-party Talks and bring the North Korean nuclear program under control. What is the ROK government’s position on this?

A: You asked two questions. On the possibility of the ROK’s losing leadership in the North Korean nuclear issue if the US-North Korea dialogue takes place first, as you are well aware, the ROK and the US have consulted and cooperated very closely on North Korea and its nuclear issue.

Therefore, it is difficult to imagine a situation where the ROK government loses its leadership. The ROK government is the number one party concerned with Korean Peninsula issues and such a situation will not happen in its relations with the US.

As I understand, in your second question, you asked if the ROK can control the North Korean nuclear program in the current situation where the Six-party Talks, aimed at controlling the program, are not taking place.

First, the ROK government is open to dialogue with North Korea and the Six-party Talks. The government is maintaining openness. However, the government also holds the position that dialogue for dialogue’s sake is meaningless. The government’s position is that dialogue should lead to substantive progress in North Korea’s denuclearization. Dialogue should be the one that can bring such progress.

As you have also seen all along, in the process of negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program, the pattern of North Korean provocation followed by agreement, compensation and yet another form of provocation has been repeated. The ROK side thinks that dialogue should be able to break such vicious cycle.

During the process, North Korea has only developed its nuclear capability. Therefore, dialogue should be the one that can break the vicious cycle.

In conclusion, it is very important to create conditions where such dialogue can happen.

In particular, if we look at North Korea’s latest words and behavior, we cannot see North Korea’s sincerity toward denuclearization. Therefore, as I said, it is crucial to hold sincere dialogue that can bring progress.

Q: I’d like to know if the issue of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant will be discussed during the IAEA Director-General’s visit to the ROK.

A: I have no information on that right now. I will check and let you know later.

Q: National Assembly Deputy Speaker Park Byeong-seug claimed that the Korea Foundation only allowed the International Exchange Promotion Association to issue their flight tickets to grant privileges to retired officials. What is the Foreign Ministry’s position on this?

A: I have also seen the report. The Foreign Ministry is trying to verify the report through its department in charge of the issue. Regrettably, I had not been briefed on what exactly happened until I came here for a regular press briefing. After this briefing, I will check and let you know the Foreign Ministry’s position as soon as possible.

Q: On lawmaker Shim Jae-kwon’s remark on dual citizenship of diplomats’ children, you said that the Foreign Ministry will further look into the case. Are you saying that the Ministry will find ways to improve the situation because there are some problems? Or are you saying that there is no problem but the Ministry will look into the case to see what the exact situation is?

A: You asked why such a case happens frequently in the US. I guess the periods when diplomats go to study abroad often coincide with their marriage and childbirth. In addition to diplomats who go to the US to study English, the Foreign Ministry also has a system where diplomats can study English in the US for one year before going to a third country to study other language.

As such, there are many Foreign Ministry officials who go to the US to study, which I think is the cause of the current situation.

You asked if that is not a problem and if there is any room for improvement. Instead of answering the question right now, we will further examine the case and give you an answer to that.

Q: Some have argued that it is wrong that the ROK government bestowed Orders on the Japanese politicians who visited the Yasukuni Shrine and claimed sovereignty over Dokdo, including former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. What is the Foreign Ministry’s position on this?

A: First, if we look at the recipients of Orders, we could see that they have been awarded Orders due to their contribution to promoting friendship between the two countries.

On what the Ministry will do, it will review the issue, taking into account the argument recently made.

I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.

*unofficial translation