Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 15, 2013 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have three announcements to make.

First, the Second Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom will take place in Seoul on October 16.

This Strategic Dialogue was first held in the UK in November 2012 at the proposal of the UK. The purpose of the Dialogue is to expand the ROK-UK cooperation on bilateral as well as regional and global issues.

The ROK and the UK delegations to the meeting will be led by the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo and Robert Peter Hannigan, Director-General for Defence and Intelligence of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, respectively.

Moving on to the second announcement, the 18th Meeting of the ROK-China Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation will take place in Qingdao, China, on October 17 and 18.

The ROK and the Chinese delegations to the meeting will be led by the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Global Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon and Tang Dingding, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, respectively.

In the Meeting, the two sides will share with each other their respective countries’ environment policies and review the progress in relevant cooperation projects. They will also discuss various agenda items, including air and sea pollution.

The two countries, by building upon the outcome of their discussions, are expected to work closely together in jointly addressing environmental issues in Northeast Asia and the world.

For your information, the ROK-China Joint Committee Meeting on Environmental Cooperation was first held in 1994 following the entry of the bilateral Agreement on Environmental Cooperation into force in 1993. It has since been hosted by the two countries on an annual basis.

Lastly, an interagency meeting will take place at the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, October 16, to seek ways to support the bid of Korea’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enter foreign markets through the use of grant-aid projects by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The meeting will bring together relevant officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KOICA, and organizations that support SMEs and/or handle public procurement affairs -- the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA), the Small and Medium Business Corporation (SMBC), the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK).

The meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity to focus on ways to support SMEs’ bids to enter foreign markets in tandem with the ROK’s ODA policy.

This is all for my opening statement.


[Q&A]

Q: Yesterday, the Foreign Minister mentioned the possible participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. With the government having yet to formally finalize its position on the matter, the Minister made comments indicating that the TPP has many positive aspects and that China is not opposed to it. Please tell us to what extent we can consider it as the government’s final decision.

A: The ROK government has made no decision about joining the TPP talks, yet. As I understand it, the government will decide whether and when to join the TPP negotiations after a comprehensive review of the developments in the TPP negotiations, its potential impact on the ROK economy, and opinions of stakeholders.

Let me make it clear that the Foreign Minister’s answer to the question regarding the ROK’s participation in the TPP talks at the parliamentary session yesterday was not to the effect that the government has made its final decision in that regard.

Q: The Minister did not pinpoint its advantages and disadvantages, but largely expressed his view in a positive light. Can it be construed as indicating that the government has made an interim conclusion after gathering opinions that the TPP has more positive aspects than negative ones?

A: I do not recall the exact words he used in terms of the need to join the TPP. As far as I remember, he was trying to say that he was aware that some people see a need to participate in the TPP negotiations.

I understand that the Minister did not say that the entire, majority or more than a half of the general public recognize the need to join the TPP talks. He was just trying to relay the opinion of some people. To conclude, as I have just said, the government has yet to make a decision on whether and when to join the TPP.

Let me reiterate that the Foreign Minister’s remarks yesterday should not be construed as indicating that the government has finalized its position.

To add, let me tell you that this should not be viewed as a case of intra-governmental split, either.

Q: Seoul Conference on Cyberspace 2013 will take place this week. According to a press report, the Conference could serve as an opportunity for the member countries of the Six-Party Talks except for North Korea to hold a meeting. Has a meeting been arranged? If so, when will it take place and/or who will attend it?

A: The meeting among the five countries is currently being arranged. I don’t remember its exact date, though. I will check and let you know after this briefing.

To my knowledge, the proposed meeting will bring together Vice Ministers or vice-ministerial-level officials in charge of foreign affairs or information and communications affairs, including Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, from the five member countries of the Six-Party Talks except for North Korea. The officials will discuss the possibility of cooperation in cyberspace matters.

Q: On October 17, the Yasukuni Shrine will hold its annual Autumn Festival. Some Japanese Ministers have mentioned their plan to visit the Shrine during the Festival.

Has the ROK government expressed its position regarding Japanese leaders’ plan to attend this Autumn Festival at the Yasukuni Shrine to the Japanese government through diplomatic channels in Tokyo and/or Seoul?

Should Japanese Ministers indeed pay their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine in time with the fall event, what measures will the ROK take in response?

A: I don’t even see a need to express the ROK government’s position on this issue. The ROK government has made its position very clear on numerous occasions. I myself have done so right here. In this light, I see no need to deliver the ROK’s position to the Japanese government through diplomatic channels in Seoul and/or Tokyo.

Again, the ROK government holds the position that the Yasukuni Shrine is a place where Japan’s imperialist wars of aggression are justified and glorified.

We cannot accept the fact that some political leaders of Japan pay their respects at the Shrine while saying that they repent for their country’s past wrongdoings. In this vein, the ROK government has repeatedly called on them not to visit the Shrine.

In answer to your question about how the ROK would respond should the planned visit to the Shrine actually take place, let me just stress once again that there should be no such visits in the first place.

The ROK government deems that political leaders of Japan should always keep in mind their country’s past wrongdoings that inflicted indescribable pain on the peoples of its neighboring countries and take a more humble attitude for that.

Let me add one thing since you raised this question. To my understanding, some people in Japan maintain that as the Yasukuni Shrine is a place for merely extending gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives for their country, it has nothing to do with repentance for past wrongdoings. Let me make it clear once again right here that such argument is in no way convincing to the people and the government of the ROK.

Q: You have reiterated that position on numerous occasions. Has the ROK government formally delivered that position to the Japanese government through the ROK Embassy in Tokyo and/or the Japanese Embassy in the ROK, though?

A: To give you my personal opinion, there is no need to do so. The ROK government has already made its position crystal clear. Repeating it again would be a waste of time.

Q: I have a further question on the TPP. The countries participating in TPP negotiations have purportedly announced their plan to wrap up the talks by the end of this year. Under the circumstances, can we expect the ROK government to decide by the end of this year whether to join the talks? If so, when will it likely do so?

A: Let me repeat what I told you just moments ago. The ROK government is well informed of the developments in the TPP talks. As mentioned earlier, the ROK government will decide whether and when to join the TPP negotiations after a comprehensive review on the developments in the TPP negotiations, its potential impact on the ROK economy, and opinions of stakeholders.

Q: Will the decision be made by the end of this year?

A: I have nothing more to say. The government will decide whether and when to join the TPP negotiations. I deem it inappropriate for me to predict at this point when that will be done.

I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.


* unofficial translation