Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, Yu Myung-hwan met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of the United States on February 20 and had an in-depth and productive discussion on matters of mutual interest including the further development of the ROK-US alliance, North Korean nuclear issue and the overall global challenges.

Reaffirming the importance of the ROK-US alliance, the two ministers agreed to work together to further develop the partnership into a future-oriented strategic alliance of the 21st century. Also, they shared view that Korea and the US must closely cooperate with each other for the successful implementation of alliance readjustment projects.

Minister Yu and Secretary Clinton reaffirmed that Korea and the US will not tolerate North Korea’s nuclear ambitions under any circumstances, and that the two countries will work toward North Korea’s complete and verifiable nuclear dismantlement via the Six-party Talks, based on the firm foundation of bilateral alliance. The two ministers concurred that North Korea must halt its recent provocative actions, and expeditiously resume inter-Korean talks without any preconditions. They agreed to work together for a coordinated response on this matter.

In the talk, the two foreign ministers agreed to exert joint efforts to overcome the global financial crisis, as well as ensure the success of the upcoming G-20 Summit meeting in London in April. While sharing the view that Korea and the US must work together to move forward in the Free Trade Agreement, they also recognized the importance of stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan for world peace and prosperity, and decided to strive toward this goal.

Minister Yu and Secretary Clinton looked forward to holding a Korea-US summit meeting at the earliest date possible to further consolidate bilateral alliance as well as cooperation in key global issues. They concurred in working cooperatively to this end.

Lastly, Minister Yu and Secretary Clinton noted this Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was a significant occasion where Korea and the US have further strengthened policy coordination and consolidated bilateral cooperation. Based on what had been discussed during the meeting, the two ministers agreed to make joint efforts in strengthening mutual trust and cooperation.