Press Briefing
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Cho Tai-young
Jan. 21, 2014 14:30 KST


Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

Today, I have one announcement to make.

Marco Rubio, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will visit the Republic of Korea from January 23 through 25.

On January 24, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with Senator Rubio.

To my knowledge, Senator Rubio is also scheduled to give a lecture at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

This is all for my opening statement.


[Q&A]

Q: According to some press reports, the abductors of Mr. Han in Libya have requested a ransom. Could you confirm this to the extent possible?

A: A truly unfortunate incident has happened. Currently, the ROK government is making its utmost efforts to win an immediate and safe release of the abductee. It will continue making the full range of multidimensional efforts to this end. The government has been providing explanations about the relevant developments in an appropriate manner. I will refrain from going into further details, though.

Q: According to a press report issued earlier today, Han Seok-woo, the head of the Libya unit of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), has been confirmed to be unharmed. Please elaborate on this.

A: Right. The abductee has been confirmed to be safe.

Q: Is the ROK government in direct contact with the four gunmen who kidnapped Mr. Han? Or is contact with them being made through the Libyan government? Please share with us what you can.

A: As I have just said, it is not possible for me to give you such information.

Let me reiterate, though, what we have already informed you in this regard.

In view of ongoing instability in the region and possibility of its aggravation in the short term, the ROK Foreign Ministry has issued a special travel alert on entire Libya, effective from Monday, January 20.

As you may know, currently, entire Libya is placed under Travel-alert Level 3 (Travel Restricted).

Part of the purpose of issuing a special travel alert is to recommend the ROK nationals to leave the country or the area concerned. As you may already be aware, special travel alerts are effective for one week, after which they are automatically extended unless lifted.

Under the circumstances, ROK nationals are advised to refrain from visiting Libya for the time being. Also, those residing in the country are advised to pay special heed to their safety and head back home or to another safer country as soon as possible.

Q: A large number of ROK nationals reside in Libya. I would like to know how many of them so far have revealed a plan to move out of Libya to the ROK or some other countries.

A: I don’t have the exact number with me right now. To my knowledge, there are 551 ROK nationals staying in the country. I will check and let you know whether there was any change in that number in the past few hours and if so, what the new number is.

Q: You mentioned just moments ago and before that the ROK government is making its utmost efforts, including together with Libya’s neighboring countries and the ROK’s friends, to win the release of Mr. Han. Could you share with us what specific efforts you are making to that end together with our friends and/or other countries that have experienced such kidnapping cases?

A: I will tell you two things. As I said moments ago, the ROK government is doing everything in its power to that end, although I cannot share with you every detail. I will share them with you in an appropriate manner when the time is right.

What I would like to emphasize right here at this point is that we all must pay attention to the safety of abductee.

Q: Last weekend, US President Barack Obama announced the reforms of the US National Security Agency (NSA). As I understand it, the US government revealed its plan to provide adequate explanations in this regard to other countries through diplomatic channels. Has the US government given the ROK government any explanation on its alleged wiretapping on the ROK side, particularly President Park?

A: When a head of state or a key, high-ranking government official delivers an important speech, the country concerned customarily provides relevant explanations on the background of the speech to related countries. To my understanding, by the same token, the US government would give the ROK government an explanation on the background behind the speech by President Obama.

I understand, though, that the US side has yet to do so.

Q: It has been about 38 hours since the abduction of Mr. Han happened. I have a question regarding kidnapping cases that happened in the past. I would like to know how much time usually passed following the kidnapping until the kidnappers contacted the ROK government.

A: It is a very difficult question. I don’t have relevant statistics with me. Not being an expert in the field, though, I do not deem that how much time passes until the kidnappers make first contact is an important factor to take into consideration for resolving such cases.

Anyway, let me stress once again that the ROK government, including the Foreign Ministry, will continue doing its best to resolve this unfortunate kidnapping case.

Q: First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kyou-hyun met with the US Deputy Secretary of State earlier today, right? According to the press release on the outcome of the meeting, Vice Minister Kim explained the ROK government’s position on its relations with Japan. Please share with us how the US side responded to that.

A: Let me give you a brief answer to your somewhat long question. It is up to the US side to discuss its response. I believe you can probably guess what the ROK side mentioned in its explanation to the US side.

Q: I have one more question on the abduction case. The Foreign Ministry established an emergency task force, didn’t it? It has been reported that the task force was formed yesterday. In addition, there must be a team working on this case in Libya, led by the ROK Embassy there, and to my knowledge, KOTRA also created a task force and is making a lot of efforts. I’d like to know how they are coordinating their work. Is each of them playing different roles?

A: To put it simply, there are task forces in Seoul and Tripoli. In Seoul, as you said, there are task forces created by the Foreign Ministry and KOTRA. All of them are closely cooperating.

There are many ways of cooperation, aren’t there? They are communicating in many ways and when necessary, holding meetings. When there were any other agencies involved in this case other than those I just mentioned, they also participated in related meetings and collected wisdom in handling the matter.

Q: To my knowledge, US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns visited the ROK today and met with First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun. I’d like to know if they discussed the possible visit to North Korea by Robert King, US Special Envoy for North Korea Human Rights Issues.

A: Actually, I did not attend their meeting, so it is difficult for me to give you an accurate answer on that. I will check later.

However, a press release on the result of the meeting has already been released and as far as I know, Deputy Secretary Burns held a short press availability. I think the result of the meeting was all covered by them, but I will check and let you know later.

You received our press release on the result of the meeting between Deputy Secretary Burns and Vice Minister Kim Kyou-hyun, didn’t you? We have already provided all related information.

For your reference, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel will visit the ROK soon. He will visit here on Sunday, January 26 and meet with Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo.

Q: On the visit by Senator Marco Rubio, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which you mentioned in the first part, why is he visiting the ROK? What will he discuss here? Also, besides Assistant Secretary Daniel Russel’s upcoming visit to the ROK, which you told us moments ago, are there any other US high-level officials planning to visit the ROK?

A: As far as I know, there are no planned visits as of now.

On Senator Rubio’s visit to the ROK, I think given his position, it is only natural for him to visit here. I understand that he, as a ranking member of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, occasionally visits related regions.

Do we call it a field trip? To my understanding, his visit to the ROK is part of his efforts to meet and exchange views with senior officials of countries he is dealing with. I haven’t heard that there is any other specific purpose.

I will conclude today’s briefing. Thank you.

*unofficial translation