US Secretary of State Clinton Congratulates FM Kim on His Inauguration

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, who took office on October 8, had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on October 9 at her request. After congratulating Minister Kim on his inauguration, Secretary Clinton voiced willingness to make active efforts to further develop ROK-US relations based on personal friendship and trust. Extending appreciation in response, Minister Kim proposed maintaining close consultation and cooperation to strengthen the ROK-US alliance and overall ties. During the phone call, Minister Kim and Secretary Clinton reaffirmed their commitment to work together to make a success of both the G20 Seoul Summit in November and President Obama’s visit to Korea during the Summit. Taking note of the unified position between the two countries on the denuclearization of North Korea and North Korea policies, they agreed to work more closely together down the road. In addition, the two sides concurred to make strong efforts toward the ratification of the KORUS (Korea-US) FTA. The two sides agreed to hold the ROK-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at an early date.