Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 17, 2013 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have five announcements to make.

Let me begin with the airplane crash in Laos. As already reported, a Lao Airlines plane carrying passengers including three nationals of the Republic of Korea crashed into the Mekong River near Pakse Airport.

According to the briefing provided by Lao Airlines at 9:00 a.m., local time (11:00 a.m., Korea Standard Time), today, so far, no survivors have been found and the plane wreckage submerged eight meters under water. Salvage operations of the wreckage from water will be launched this afternoon. Thus far, four bodies have been recovered, none of which are Korean passengers.

The ROK government extends its deepest consolation to the families of the Korean victims as well as all others who were killed in the accident.

The Foreign Ministry promptly dispatched a consul at the ROK Embassy in Laos to the accident site yesterday. The Foreign Ministry headquarters will also send a member of its emergency response team to Laos tomorrow to help handle the aftermath of the accident for the Korean victims.

Furthermore, should the families of the Korean victims decide to visit the accident site, the Foreign Ministry will render support in every way it can, including urgently issuing passports and guiding them in Laos.

Moving on, let me announce the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s commentary on the Japanese Prime Minister’s offering to the Yasukuni Shrine.

The Government of the Republic of Korea cannot but express its deep concern and regret over the fact that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once again sent an offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, a place where Japan’s past wars of aggression are glorified and war criminals are enshrined. The ROK government once again calls on Japanese political leaders to win trust from its neighboring countries and the rest of the international community by introspecting and repenting over its history in a humble way.

Thirdly, the 3rd ROK-Caribbean High-level Forum will take place at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, October 22, with twelve tourism-related vice-ministerial officials from Caribbean countries in attendance.

The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will co-host the upcoming Forum on “tourism cooperation” to explore ways to promote the ROK-Caribbean cooperation in tourism. At the Forum, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kyou-hyun will deliver opening remarks.

Fourthly, the Third ROK-Laos High-level Policy Consultation will take place in Laos on October 22. The first of its kind was held in April 2010.

The Policy Consultation is held to seek ways for expanding cooperation between the two countries on not only bilateral issues but also regional and global issues.

The ROK and Lao delegations to the meeting will be led by the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bounkeut Sangsomsack, respectively.

Lastly, the 2nd ROK-PICs (Pacific Island Countries) High-level Meeting will take place in Seoul on October 22.

Suh Jeong-in, Director-General for South Asian and Pacific Affairs, will preside over the Meeting to be attended by high-ranking government officials of 14 island countries in the Pacific. The Meeting will cover ways for the two sides to work together in addressing climate change and development as well as marine and fisheries affairs.

The Meeting will take place as part of efforts to follow up on the outcome of the First Foreign Ministers’ Meeting between the two sides held back in 2011. For your information, the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is held every three years. And the High-level Meeting is held every year when there is no Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to review the progress in the implementation of agreed-upon measures and discuss ways for cooperation.

The forthcoming High-level Meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity to seek ways to make their cooperation more productive as well as to further advance bilateral cooperation.

This is all for my opening statement.


[Q&A]

Q: You mentioned the Yasukuni Shrine in your opening statement. Some speculate that Japanese Prime Minister Abe did not pay his respects at the Yasukuni Shrine but made an offering, called masakaki, to the Shrine partly in consideration of China and the ROK. As you said moments ago, does the ROK government still deem that move unacceptable?

A: To my knowledge, masakaki, which you have just referred to, is “sasaki, or Cleyera japonica, tree.” Some in Japan may hold the view that the move was made in consideration of the ROK and its other neighboring countries, but I do not share that view. I don’t believe any Korean would.

Q: I have a question regarding the ROK’s restrictions on fisheries imports from Japan. There was a press report on the arguments that the ROK and Japan had presented to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Which provisions of the WTO Agreement did the ROK government build its argument upon?

I have another question. A Korean media outlet reported that a large part of the materials offered to the ROK by the Japanese government are references or materials with only URLs, calling the government disrespectful.

Do you deem it a dispectful move on the part of the Japanese government to send not-so-informative data?

A: To my knowledge, at the recent WTO meeting, the ROK delegation elaborated on the background behind the import ban on fisheries products from Japan.

As I understand it, the delegation explained that the measure had been put in place in accordance with the relevant WTO provisions in view of the concern of the ROK nationals over their health and food safety in the face of radioactive water leaks caused by insufficient management of the Fukushima nuclear power plant after its accident.

In that vein, the ROK delegation purportedly underscored the need for the Japanese government to disclose enough information on issues concerning food safety, including the facts about radioactive leaks, and to seek and implement measures to fundamentally prevent radioactive water leaks from recurring.

The Japanese government provided to the ROK government relevant information at the latter’s request. The ROK government is currently reviewing that information, while making another list of questions to be asked to the Japanese government regarding food safety.

Q: Following suit of the US Secretary of State, the Foreign Ministers of Australia and the UK have expressed their support for Japan’s right to collective self-defense. What does the ROK government make of their move?

A: The ROK government has been explaining its stance to the countries concerned.

Q: Please share with us once again the position of the ROK government.

A: Discussions on that right are currently under way in Japan. The ROK government will keep track of relevant developments and voice its position as necessary. For now, it is relaying its principles and concerns to countries concerned.

Q: I have a further question. I understand that Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met bilaterally with his counterparts from Australia and the UK today around noon and in the morning, respectively. I would like to know whether Japan’s right to collective self-defense was raised in the bilateral meetings. If so, please share with us the position of the ROK government delivered to them.

A: As I have just told you, the ROK government has been expressing its position through appropriate channels whenever there is a chance to do so, including the Foreign Ministers’ meetings with Australia and the UK.

Q: Every time we asked about a ROK-China-Japan summit, you answered that nothing had been decided. Has there been any progress in that regard? Has anything been decided?

A: You answered your own question before even asking it.

Q: Let me ask again. Can we expect it not to happen by the end of the year? There were some press reports to that effect.

A: All I can say in answer to your question at this point is that nothing has been decided yet. Nor do I have an ability to make predictions about the future.

Q: Concerning weapons of mass destruction, the Chinese authorities published a list of items banned from export to North Korea. China did so late last month, but there were additional reports on that today.

The Chinese authorities are emphasizing sanctions against North Korea, while calling for the resumption of the Six-party Talks and dialogue. What does the Foreign Ministry make of this?

A: As you said, on September 23 as I remember, the Chinese government posted an announcement on a list of dual-use goods and technologies, meaning both civilian and military applications, banned from export to North Korea on the website of its Commerce Ministry.

To my knowledge, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of Customs and the China Atomic Energy Authority jointly announced the list of about 900 items in four areas, including nuclear weapons, missiles, chemical and biological weapons and complimentary items.

We understand that the announcement was made as part of efforts to implement the UN Security Council resolutions on sanctions against North Korea. The Foreign Ministry notes such effort by China to deter North Korea from building a WMD-related capability and to induce changes in North Korea’s behavior.

Q: I have another question on visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. You issued a commentary on Prime Minister Abe’s offering. The Yasukuni Shrine's fall festival will last until this Sunday. If a Japanese Cabinet member visits the Shrine during the period, will you release another commentary or statement?

To my knowledge, Japanese lawmakers who belong to a group that makes Yasukuni visits en masse will visit the Shrine during the festival this year.

If they do, will the Foreign Ministry try to make a list of visitors, as it did after the Shrine's spring festival and August 15? As far as I know, the National Assembly of the ROK requested the Ministry to do so then. I’d like to know if the National Assembly has made such request this time as well.

A: I remember that a similar question was asked a few days ago. I think I cannot help but give a similar answer to that.

To tell you once again, instead of talking about what the Foreign Ministry will do if the Japanese Cabinet members or lawmakers visit the Yasukuni Shrine, I’d like to emphasize once again that they should not make such visit. On why it should not happen, I don’t think I need to give you the reason once again here.

Second, you asked about the list of visitors. The ROK government and people are closely watching who visits the Shrine. On whether there has been a request by the National Assembly to make the list and whether the Ministry will do so, I will not give you detailed answers to that.

However, what I will stress here is that as you, Japanese correspondents in Seoul, can clearly feel, the ROK government and people are keeping a very close eye on who visits the Shrine and what attitude the visitors take at the Shrine.

Q: The Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that a five-party meeting on cyber issues will take place today. Was the meeting held as planned, with five countries including Japan in attendance? If possible, could you give us more details on the meeting?

A: I will let you know the details after this press briefing. The details will be given through a press release. I was busy doing other things this morning, so I couldn’t check on the details myself and don’t have a clear picture of them. I will let you later after I check on them.

Q: Don’t you know if the Japanese government attended it or not?

A: The Japanese government was supposed to do so. The ROK and other four countries participating in the Six-party Talks were supposed to attend the meeting, so I think Japan did so of course. However, as I just said, I will check later and let you know.

Q: The Foreign Ministry explained that the five-party meeting is part of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative being pursued by President Park Geun-hye. Did the Japanese side decide to attend the meeting after the ROK government explained the purpose of the meeting and asked Japan to attend it?

A: Are you asking if the ROK government told Japan that the meeting is part of efforts to push forward with the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, when asking Japan to attend the meeting? I need to check on that.

As you are well aware, the Initiative seeks to begin with cooperation in easy issues, or light issues, which we call soft agenda, in order to bring more stable cooperation and peace based on trust in this region. I understand that in line with the Initiative, five countries decided to meet on this good occasion to discuss issues that concern every country and are easy to deal with.

On whether the ROK side explained the purpose of the meeting when asking Japan to attend it, I have no information on that right now. I will check later.

Q: I will ask a question on the airplane crash in Laos. The Foreign Ministry said that it will assist the bereaved families of Korean victims in getting passports and visiting Laos. Are the bereaved families planning to visit Laos? Doesn’t the Ministry have any plans to provide additional assistance to the families?

A: As far as I know, the family members of one Korean victim will arrive in Laos tomorrow. If they don’t have passports, the Ministry will urgently issue their passports and the ROK Embassy in Laos will also do its best to help them. What do you mean by additional assistance?

Q: Regarding handling the aftermath of the accident, do you have more to tell us other than what you said in your opening statement?

A: I have nothing to add to that right now.

Q: Concerning the accident in Laos, some reports said that the Lao government requested the ROK government to send a salvage team to recover the bodies of the victims. I’d like to know if there was such request.

A: I have also seen the reports and asked a department in charge of the matter to verify the reports. It has been confirmed that there was no such request from Laos. I have seen other reports that Thailand, Laos’ neighboring country, will dispatch about 100 divers and some of them already began their operations in Laos.

If you don’t have any further questions, I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.

*unofficial translation