Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Oct. 29, 2013 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have five announcements to make.

First, the governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States will sign a memorandum of understanding today to extend their bilateral Work, English Study, Travel (WEST) Program and the Working Holiday Program (WHP) for five more years.

The MOU, when signed, will be effective for five years from November 1, 2013.

The MOU will be signed by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US Ambassador to the ROK Sung Kim.

The two countries agreed to extend the aforementioned Programs at their summit talks in May.

For the next five years, the MOU will allow an annual maximum of 2,000 college students of the two countries to stay in each other’s countries for up to 18 months to study, seek employment as interns or others, and travel.

The ROK government expects the program extensions to help further boost youth exchanges between the two countries and further solidify the foundation of the bilateral friendship.

The ROK government will continue rendering its utmost support for the smooth implementation of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

It will also seek to provide young people of the ROK with more opportunities to obtain overseas experience.

Moving on to the second announcement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, will host the 2013 High-Level Forum on Korea-Latin America Partnership in Seoul on November 5.

The event will take place at Lotte Hotel and be open in entirety to the public.

Ten-odd ministerial-level officials from Latin American countries are invited to this event held on an annual basis since 2008 to seek ways to promote trade and investment between the ROK and the region.

The upcoming Forum themed “win-win cooperation, co-prosperity” is expected to serve as an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding and to explore the possibility of bilateral cooperation in the sectors of infrastructure, e-government system, informatization and public healthcare.

Those of you who wish to interview the Vice President of Costa Rica and/or other participating ministerial- and vice-ministerial-level officials should contact the Spokesperson’s Office.

The Forum will be attended by seven officials from the region, including Vice President Luis Liberman of Costa Rica, Minister of Health and Sports Juan Carlos Calvimontes of Bolivia, and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communications and Transport Rodarte of Mexico.

Thirdly, a ROK-Germany High-Level Policy Consultation will take place in Seoul on October 31.

The ROK and the German delegations to the meeting will be led by First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kyou-hyun and Foreign Office State Secretary Dr. Emily Haber, respectively.

The meeting will take place on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 50th anniversary of the dispatch of Korean immigrant miners to Germany and discuss overall bilateral relations.

Fourthly, the Foreign Ministry, together with the Ministry of Justice and the National Court Administration, will host the 3rd International Conference on Enforcing Contracts of Vietnam, Brunei and Saudi Arabia in Seoul on October 30 and 31.

At the Conference, part of APEC’s project to improve business environment, participants will report and engage in discussions on the outcome of projects conducted this year to improve the legal system for enforcing contracts.

The meeting will be open in entirety to the public.

The Conference, which will take place as part of APEC’s project to improve business environment, will consist of reports and discussions on the outcome of the project to improve the legal system for enforcing contracts.

For your information, in terms of business environment, there are five priority areas, namely: starting a business, getting credit, trading across borders, and dealing with permits, the champion economies of which are the US and New Zealand; Japan; Singapore and Hong Kong; ROK; and Singapore, respectively.

As I have just mentioned, the ROK is the champion economy leading contract enforcement efforts -- one of the five priority areas for doing business. As such, it has supported the efforts to improve relevant legal systems of developing countries in the region by taking part in the examination and evaluation of their contract enforcement.

The forthcoming Conference will focus on the outcome of the project to improve the relevant legal systems of Vietnam, Brunei and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, although a non-APEC country, is taking part in this project as a cooperation partner as it expressed its hope to do so after attending the 2nd International Conference in 2012 as an observer.

At the Conference, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul will deliver welcoming remarks.

Lastly, the Foreign Ministry, together with the Korea-Brazil Society, the Korean Society of Portuguese-Brazilian Studies and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), will host the 2nd National Portuguese Speech Contest at COEX, Seoul, on Wednesday, October 30, as part of the commemorative events for the 50th anniversary of the Korean immigration to Brazil this year.

At the Contest, twelve students who passed the preliminary round, will deliver speeches in Portuguese on the ROK-Brazil relations.

The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, November 6. The top contestant will be presented with the Foreign Minister Award.

The Contest is expected to contribute to boosting exchanges between the private sectors of the ROK and Brazil and to fostering Korean experts on the Portuguese language, the demand for whom is rising amid the growing presence of Korean companies in Brazil.

This is all for my opening statement.


[Q&A]

Q: In answer to the question of whether the US government has replied to the ROK’s request to confirm whether the ROK President is on the list of those wiretapped by the US National Security Agency, you said that the ROK government had received no reply yet. According to some press reports, the US government has responded that it understands the ROK situation. Exactly how was the reply from the US government worded?

A: The ROK government, having made a formal request for confirmation to the US government through diplomatic channels, is currently waiting for a reply. This is where things stand at the moment.

Q: Are you saying that the US has not responded that it understood the ROK situation, which has been reported by some press?

A: To my understanding, that was not the final reply from the US government. We are waiting for one.

Q: I have a further question. When the ROK Embassy in the US was reportedly spied on by the US government, the ROK government asked for the US government’s confirmation and spent a lot of time waiting for the latter’s reply, but no clear conclusion came out of it. Until when will the ROK government wait for a reply? What next steps, if any, will it take?

A: There was a press report that the ROK Embassy in the US had been spied on. If true, this is a considerably grave issue. According to another press report, leaders of 35 countries have been wiretapped. Your question is whether the ROK is included in the 35 countries. Should this media report be true, this is also a very serious issue. The ROK government will respond to this issue sternly and in a way that is commensurate with its gravity. Let me tell you that instead setting the timeframe for waiting for a reply, the ROK government will deal sternly with this issue if found true.

Q: According to a press report issued earlier this afternoon, the ROK government has started work to map out a guideline mainly calling for the Japanese government to seek the former’s consent before the latter exercises its right to collective self-defense, be it armed or unarmed. Is this true?

A: I understand that discussions on that right are currently under way in Japan, and they have yet to produce specific conclusions. Under the circumstances, it appears inappropriate for me to comment on the press reports. On a side note, the ROK government, on its part, has expressed its position on this issue to Japan and other relevant countries on a number of occasions through various channels. As I said the other day, the ROK government will keep track of relevant developments and respond to them as necessary. As nothing specific has been decided even in Japan, it would be inappropriate to discuss relevant details.

Q: Some reports are criticizing that the ROK’s response to the issue of the right to collective self-defense has been tepid and the ROK seems to actually accept Japan’s right to collective self-defense. What does the Foreign Ministry make of them?

A: The expression “actually accept” was used by the media, but to my understanding, the related reports were based on remarks by a ROK high-level official, who recently visited the US and consulted with the US side. In short, we do not think the word “actually accept” is appropriate. As I said before, it is not that the ROK government holds no position or takes no action at all. The government is taking necessary measures depending on the situations and will continue to do so. Let me repeat that once again.

Q: My first question is on the US surveillance on the ROK Embassy in the US. Since the issue was brought up, the Foreign Ministry has said that the ROK government will sternly respond to the matter. Do you think that all allegations raised at the time have been fully verified as a result of consultations between the ROK and the US? Is the US side giving a satisfactory answer to the ROK government? On Japan’s right to collective self-defense, some reports said that the ROK government’s position has changed from not allowing Japan to exercise the right to actually accepting the right. I’d like to know if there has been a time when the ROK government held a position of not allowing Japan to exercise the right.

A: Concerning the alleged US surveillance on the ROK Embassy in the US, I have provided explanations to journalists here on many occasions. The ROK government demanded the US government verify the allegations and express its position on the issue. The US side said that it understands the concerns raised by allies and will review the US government’s intelligence activities. We think that the ROK’s position has been fully conveyed to the US side. As I understand, you asked if we think the issue is over now. Let me tell you once again that the ROK government has fully delivered its position to the US side.

Q: On my second question?

A: I have already given an answer to the question repeatedly, so please refer to that.

Q: On the right to collective self-defense, you said that the ROK government has repeatedly delivered its position to the Japanese government, but more specifically, what is the ROK’s current position?

A: We have already announced the ROK government’s position publicly. The ROK government raised its concerns with the Japanese government.

Q: As Chinese Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei is on a visit to the US, many are speculating that the Six-party Talks could resume. The ROK government’s position has been that North Korea should take denuclearization measures first and that it will not hold dialogue that cannot lead to progress. Amid high expectations for the resumption of the Six-party Talks, has there been any change in the ROK government’s position? Under what conditions will the government hold dialogue?

A: The ROK government is open to dialogue. However, as we have repeatedly said, the government’s position is that dialogue should be the one that can make substantial progress on North Korea’s denuclearization. The government has maintained the position. In this regard, the ROK and the US have discussed ways to make substantial progress on denuclearization with major countries concerned including China. Chinese Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei is making a visit to the US and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Cho Tae-yong will also visit the US soon. We expect close consultations to be held during the visits.

Q: I have another question on the right to collective self-defense. Is a security policy consultation between the ROK and Japan likely to be held next month? I’d like to know if the two countries are discussing it and if any progress has been made.

It has been reported that when the Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Cooperation were revised in 1997, the ROK government explicitly conveyed its position that any action by Japan regarding sovereignty without the ROK government’s consent is not acceptable. Was the position delivered verbally? Or was a diplomatic document sent together? I’d also like to know what response the Japanese side made.

A: I addressed the ROK-Japan security policy consultation once the other day. It is true that some are saying it now needs to take place as it has not been held for three years.

However, the two countries have not agreed on specifically when to hold the consultation. If it takes place, the two sides are expected to hold extensive discussions on issues of mutual concern.

On your second question, I need to check. I have no information right now on what happened in 1997.

Q: One more question on the US surveillance on the ROK Embassy in the US. Until now, the ROK government has only said regarding the issue that “there was a general explanation from the US side.” However, today, you specifically said that the US government will review its intelligence activities. Does the ROK government consider the meaning of the word “review” as the US admission that surveillance activities were conducted and think that such problem will not occur again?

I have another question on denuclearization talks. It has been reported this afternoon that the ROK government demanded a full disclosure of North Korea’s highly-enriched uranium (HEU) facilities as a precondition for the Six-party Talks. Is this the ROK government’s position?

A: I think the remarks by the US should be interpreted by the US. I just delivered the US explanation to you as it is. On your second question on highly-enriched uranium, as I just said, if dialogue resumes, it should be the one that can make substantial progress on denuclearization and countries concerned are consulting on ways to make such progress. I will refrain from getting into specifics.

Q: I have one more question on the right to collective self-defense. You, Spokesperson, said that the ROK government has raised its “concerns” with the Japanese government. To be more specific, what is the reason for such concerns? What situations does the ROK government think will happen if Japan exercises the right?

A: I understand that you are closely watching local news reports. I am sure that you must be well aware of what the ROK’s concerns are, so I don’t think I need to explain that again here. What I meant was that the ROK government has delivered its position, including the opinions of the ROK people.

I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.

*unofficial translation