◈ Korea, Japan, China Hold Foreign Ministers' Meeting After 3-Year Hiatus



The Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Korea, Japan and the People’s Republic of China released their press release following the Seventh Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on March 21, 2015 in Seoul. The Foreign Ministers' meeting was the first of its kind in nearly three years.

The following is the full text of their joint press release:

1. The Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the People’s Republic of China convened in Seoul, for the Seventh Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on March 21, 2015, and engaged in an in-depth discussion on various issues including the current status and future direction of the trilateral cooperation, and regional as well as global affairs.

2. The three Ministers expressed their expectation that trilateral cooperation mechanism may head towards restoration on the occasion of this Meeting, held after almost three years since April 2012. The three Ministers also shared the view that trilateral cooperation mechanism should continue to remain and develop as an important framework of cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia.

In this regard, Ministers of Japan and the People’s Republic of China highly appreciated the active role of the Republic of Korea as the chair country in leading the trilateral cooperation for the past years, including the hosting of this Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

3. The three Ministers acknowledged that there has been steady progress in trilateral cooperation in various areas, despite fluid situations in the Northeast Asian region in recent years.

The three Ministers welcomed that various trilateral ministerial meetings in areas including environment, culture, public health, finance, transportation and distribution, audit, disaster management, earthquake cooperation, and patent were successfully convened during the last two years. The three Ministers decided to encourage a more active promotion of over 50 intergovernmental consultative mechanisms, including about 20 ministerial-level mechanisms, as well as numerous cooperation projects among the three countries.

Furthermore, the three Ministers shared the view that the three countries have actively pursued the institutionalization of trilateral trade, investment, and economic relations. While welcoming the improvement of investment environment with the Trilateral Investment Agreement which came into effect in May 2014, the three Ministers decided to make continued efforts towards the acceleration of trilateral FTA negotiations.

The three Ministers appreciated the efforts made by the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat(TCS), since its establishment in September 2011, to promote trilateral cooperation, and welcomed the release of the “Matrix of Major Events for Trilateral Cooperation in 2015” during this Meeting by the TCS.

4. The three Ministers emphasized that respective bilateral ties among the three countries constitute an important foundation for trilateral cooperation, and that the deepening of trilateral cooperation, in turn, contributes to each bilateral relations and to the peace, stability, and prosperity of the Northeast Asian region. In the spirit of facing history squarely and advancing towards the future, the three Ministers agreed that three countries should address related issues properly and to work together to improve bilateral relations and to strengthen trilateral cooperation.

The three Ministers appreciated the various endeavors made to promote regional cooperation, and decided to make joint efforts to achieve the common goal of building regional trust and cooperation. In this regard, the Ministers of Japan and the People’s Republic of China highly appreciated and welcomed the Republic of Korea’s “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative”. In addition, the three Ministers decided to further strengthen trilateral nuclear safety cooperation in Northeast Asia, and to expand cooperation in areas including nuclear security, disaster management, environment, and youth exchange.

Furthermore, the three Ministers decided to resume the “Trilateral Counter-Terrorism Consultation” and the “Trilateral Policy Dialogue on Africa”, and to continue the “Trilateral Cyber Policy Consultation”, “Tripartite Policy Dialogue on Air Pollution” under the framework of Trilateral Environmental Ministers’ Meeting, “East Asian Cultural Cities”, “CAMPUS Asia”, “People-to-People Exchange Forum”, and media exchange projects. The three Ministers also decided to newly promote the “Trilateral Youth Summit”, cooperation among diplomatic training institutions, network among think-tanks, and the “Trilateral Policy Consultation on Middle East Affairs”. Moreover, the three Ministers expressed their intention to explore cooperation in areas, such as capital cities and aging society projects.

5. The three Ministers exchanged views on various regional and global issues.

The three Ministers reaffirmed their firm opposition to the development of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, and shared the view that international obligations and commitments under all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the 19 September 2005 Joint Statement must be faithfully implemented. In addition, the three Ministers decided to continue their joint efforts to resume meaningful Six-Party Talks to make substantial progress in denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The three Ministers shared the view that trilateral cooperation is an important component of East Asia cooperation, and decided to make joint efforts to contribute to building trust in East Asia through regional dialogues and cooperation. In this vein, the three Ministers welcomed the upcoming launch of the ASEAN Community and decided to build on this momentum by strengthening trilateral cooperation within the existing regional frameworks, such as ASEAN, ASEAN+3(APT), East Asia Summit(EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum(ARF), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC).

The three Ministers exchanged views on global issues including response to terrorism and extremism, the situation in Ukraine, Middle East affairs, and the international economy, and decided to continue close coordination on various challenges the international society faces.

6. Based on the accomplishments achieved through this Meeting, the three Ministers decided to continue their efforts to hold the Trilateral Summit at the earliest convenient time for the three countries.

◈ President Park Meets with Foreign Ministers of China, Japan



Ahead of the foreign ministers' trilateral meeting, President Park Geun-hye met with them at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. President Park discussed with them ways to promote cooperation among the three countries, the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative and the latest developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

The President first expressed the hope that the Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which resumed after a hiatus of three years, would serve as an opportunity for them to engage in in-depth and meaningful discussions on the direction for trilateral cooperation.

President Park noted that Korea, Japan and China were important partners with one another in Northeast Asia, whose combined output accounts for more than 25 percent of the global total. President Park continued to say she felt sorry for the stagnation in substantive cooperation in spite of deepening economic interdependence among them. Over her past three years in the office, she said she had realized the importance of trust building in the region, adding that enhanced mutual confidence in Northeast Asia would provide significant momentum for rapid progress in trilateral cooperation. President Park said this year was an historic year marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of our country and the end of the Second World War as well as the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan and expressed the hope that trilateral cooperation would be further enhanced in this important year.

With regard to North Korea, President Park said that resolving the North Korean nuclear issue would contribute not only to advancing stable inter-Korean relations but also to establishing stability in Northeast Asia and therefore the three countries would have to pool their wisdom and work together for real progress in North Korean denuclearization. She said she was especially confident that peaceful Korean unification would give new impetus to furthering peace and prosperity not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world, and to this end, she asked for more trilateral cooperation and interest and support from Japan and China on the issue.

In reply, Minister Kishida expressed respect for Korea’s efforts for a resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue, peaceful Korean unification and the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, among various others. He stressed that in light of this year’s significance as the 70th anniversary of the end of Second World War, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and the 50th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations, a trilateral summit would be an important milestone for marking the year in a meaningful way, and he requested the understanding and cooperation of the other sides for the arrangement of a trilateral summit at an early date.

Minister Wang next expressed China’s unchanged support for the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, saying he felt great sorrow that the Korean Peninsula remained divided even 70 years after the end of the Second World War. The Minister said the Chinese Government supported all of the Korean Government’s initiatives for improved inter-Korean relations, the easing of tensions on the Peninsula and regional peace, and gave the assurance that China would do everything in its power to play a constructive role in safeguarding peace in the region.

In closing, President Park once again asked that the foreign ministers of the three countries make active efforts to ensure that the Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting later in the day produced substantive and meaningful outcomes.
(Source: Cheong Wa Dae)

◈ Korea, China to Move Forward Strategic Partnership



Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Seoul on March 21. In their ninety-minute meeting, the two top diplomats discussed in depth matters of common interest, mainly the ROK-China relations as well as the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

The two sides shared the view that the two countries have steadily undertaken comprehensive and multi-level communication and cooperation mainly through the four channels of strategic dialogue set up over the past two years pursuant to the agreement reached between their leaders. They agreed to accelerate such bilateral efforts to attain the joint goal of the two governments, which is moving their strategic and cooperative partnership more substantially forward.

In that vein, the two Ministers, calling the ROK-China FTA initialed on February 25 a new engine that will drive bilateral cooperation forward in substantive sectors, agreed to work for the FTA to be formally signed as soon as possible. Furthermore, the two sides welcomed the envisioned entry into force of the ROK-China consular agreement on April 12; and agreed to accelerate joint efforts to resume negotiations on maritime demarcation within the year, and to step up communication and cooperation to establish order in the fishing industry in the Yellow Sea.

With regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the two Ministers agreed to strengthen their strategic cooperation and communication by drawing upon their shared firm position that they do not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea and will seek its denuclearization. Furthermore, they agreed to work together toward a resumption of meaningful dialogue in a bid to see tangible progress toward the denuclearization of North Korea and prevent the country from sophisticating its nuclear capability. In that regard, they shared the view that their two countries need to communicate and consult with each other on various levels, including that of the head delegate to the Six-Party Talks.

Minister Wang commended and extended appreciation to the ROK side for its leading efforts to make an ROK- Japan-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting materialize. The two Ministers agreed to work closely together for the trilateral cooperation mechanism to normalize as soon as possible and develop into a mechanism that contributes substantively to stability and co-prosperity in the region.

Minister Wang expressed hope to see President Park Geun-hye at the event to be hosted by the Chinese government on September 3 to mark China’s victory in World War II, inviting Minister Yun to visit China as well. In addition, with regard to the repatriation on March 20 of the second batch of the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War, the Chinese Minister extended gratitude to the ROK government for its active assistance and cooperation.

◈ Korea, Japan to Renew Cooperation on 50th Anniv. of Diplomatic Relations



Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Seoul on March 21. In their bilateral meeting, the top diplomats exchanged views on a wide range of matters, including the ROK-Japan relations, North Korean issues, regional and global issues.

The visit of Minister Kishida to the ROK marked the first of its kind since his taking up the post in December 2012, and the ROK-Japan Foreign Ministers’ meeting was the first of its kind in 2015, the 50th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations.

The two Ministers agreed that with the year 2015 marking the 50th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations, the two countries will make efforts to build new cooperative ties while squarely facing their history. As part of such efforts, in particular, they agreed to encourage progress in the ongoing bilateral consultations to resolve the issue of sexual slavery victims drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army during World War II.

The two Ministers agreed that the governments of the two countries will hold a reception, a joint academic conference and an expanded Korea-Japan Festival to mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations. They also agreed to expand their junior-diplomat exchange program and dispatch their junior diplomats to each other’s countries under it.

The ROK-Japan junior-diplomat exchange program has called for dispatching one diplomat from one country to the other on an alternate year basis. From the year 2015 and on, the two countries will send a diplomat each to each other every year.

Minister Yun underscored the ROK government’s position that Japan’s discussions on defense and security issues should take place in line with the spirit of its pacifist constitution and in a transparent way. Minister Kishida, mentioning Japan’s plan to implement defense and security policies in a transparent manner, proposed that the two countries maintain close communication between their foreign affairs and defense authorities, including by holding bilateral security policy consultations (2+2 director-general-level dialogue between their Foreign and Defense Ministries).

The two Ministers, sharing deep concerns over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, agreed on the need to maintain close collaboration between the ROK and Japan and among the ROK, the US and Japan on North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues. In addition, they agreed to work closely together to make a success of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) set to take place in New York on April 27.

Minister Yun explained the purpose of the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, one of the Park Geun-hye government’s main foreign policies, as well as the ROK government’s plan to implement it. In response, Minister Kishida hailed the policy and expressed willingness to cooperate on it in a forward-looking way.

Minister Kishida commended and extended appreciation to Minister Yun for his leading role in making an ROK- Japan-China Foreign Ministers’ meeting materialize. The two Ministers agreed to take the opportunity of the trilateral Foreign Ministers’ meeting in 2015 to restore the trilateral cooperation mechanism on track and agreed to make joint efforts to create an atmosphere for a trilateral summit to take place as soon as possible.

The two Ministers agreed to create an atmosphere conducive to improving bilateral relations through various forms of communication. Minister Kishida invited Minister Yun to visit Japan, to which Minister Yun responded that he will mull over visiting Japan at an appropriate time.

* Source: http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/ (ROK Foreign Ministry's Website)