Your Excellency Ambassador Alexander Timonin, Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure on this meaningful occasion celebrating the Day of Russia.

On behalf of the Korean Government, I would like to offer my congratulations to the Russian Government on the 26th anniversary of the adoption of the “Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.”

We all vividly remember the historic moments of the establishment of the Russian Federation.
Russia has since made great progress in all areas  including politics, economy, and culture and the Korea-Russia relationship has also been enhanced to a strategic cooperative partnership.

The trade volume between the two countries stood at only about 200 million US dollars in the early stages of our diplomatic relations, but it has increased to 25.8 billion US dollars since then by more than 130-fold, as of 2014, through mutually reciprocal cooperation.

The people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in 2014 reached approximately 300 thousand people, and the number of exchanges continued at the same level last year.

As part of the efforts to maintain the momentum for our thriving bilateral relations, a public diplomacy project  named the “Eurasia Express” was launched last year in July.  Under the vision of “One Dream, One Eurasia”, a train full of passengers from diverse backgrounds traveled from Vladivostok to Moscow, and many festive events were held in each city on the journey. They were warmly welcomed by the local government and people.

The relations between our countries have also been constantly strengthened by continued high-level visits, as well as economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Russia, we’ve had 26 summits, and most recently a summit was held in Paris last November on the occasion of the UN Climate Change Conference. It offered President Park Geun-hye and President Putin the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues from the bilateral to regional and global level.

Two Foreign Ministers Meetings have been held this year already, and Foreign Minister Yun will be visiting Moscow this coming June. The purpose of the visit is to discuss the issues we face, including North Korea’s nuclear program as well as measures for the further development of the Korea-Russia partnership.

Distinguished Guests,

Although our two countries have achieved remarkable developments in our relations during the past 26 years, there is still great potential for the fostering of deeper bonds of cooperation. It is especially important to continue to explore ways to generate a synergy between Korea’s Eurasia Initiative and Russia’s New Eastern Policy.

North Korea, as we all know, conducted a 4th nuclear test, and has gone ahead with launches of long-range missiles, which was strongly condemned by the  international community.

The international community, including Korea and Russia, needs to clearly show that it will not tolerate North Korea’s nuclear program. It is imperative to prevent additional provocations and achieve the denuclearization of North Korea, which will in turn secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the shared goal of Korea and Russia. And this in turn will advance the shared goal of Korea and Russia of securing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

In this regard, the Korean Government will continue close cooperation with Russia,  to fundamentally resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issues.

Like the Russian proverb “Constant dropping wears away a stone”, as we maintain and develop our close cooperative partnership, I believe that we can indeed preserve peace and stability in Northeast Asia and on the Korean Peninsula, proving able to overcome any difficulties,  inducing change in North Korea in order to eventually denuclearize their nuclear program.

With regard to our bilateral relations, I look forward to Korea and Russia consolidating the strategic cooperative partnership and building a future-oriented relationship, based on the momentum generated by the cooperation over the last 26 years.

Once again, on the occasion of the Day of Russia, I would like to invite you to join me in a toast – to the everlasting friendship between Korea and Russia as well as the health and happiness of all of us here tonight. 

Cheers! “Za zdorovie!”/The End/