Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

President Park Geun-hye takes significant step toward ‘cooperation on the North Korea nuclear issue’ with the U.S., China, Russia and Japan

President Park Geun-hye has been engaging in summit diplomacy with the leaders of major countries such as the U.S., China, Russia and Japan in order to discuss a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.

Participating in the G20 Summit begun on September 4 in Hangzhou, China, President Park will hold a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss possible solutions to the North Korean nuclear and missile problems.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Jung Youn-kuk said at the local briefing, “A Korea-China summit meeting will be held tomorrow morning, September 5.” It is expected that the highlighted issue will be the situation that the threats of the North to security in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia has been actual and manifest with the 4th nuclear experiment early this year and the successful test-firing of Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). In addition, it is also expected that the need to present a united front regarding North Korea in the international community will be emphasized in order to convince North Korea to suspend and abandon their nuclear and missile program.

Prior to this, on September 3, she attended the Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok, Russia and had a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Putin. She also reconfirmed Republic of Korea and Russia's refusal to allow North Korea to become a nuclear state, and agreed to enhance strategic communication between the two countries.

After the summit meeting, she said, “To solve the North Korean nuclear issue and other relevant issues, Korea will further enhance strategic communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting also was a chance to reconfirm that both countries are partners regarding the North and its nuclear issues.” It is reported that she said during the summit on this day, “If the international community does not deal with the North Korean nuclear and missile issue with strong resolution, realizing that this is a much more urgent situation than in the past, peace and security, not only around Northeast Asia but also of the entire international community will be greatly threatened.” And she emphasized, “Now is our last chance to lead the North to change.” President Putin sent her former President Park Chung-hee’s New Year's letter to the Soviet leadership in 1979 as a gift, showing the everlasting friendship between the two countries.

President Park Geun-hye will have bilateral talks with U.S. President Obama at the ASEAN Summit to be held in Vientiane, Laos, on September 7 to 8, and will focus on enhancing sanctions against North Korea and plans to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. A summit meeting with Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe is likely to be held as well.

Meanwhile, on September 4, the very first day of the G20 Summit, President Park mentioned that the discussion about development through innovation held by the G20 is in keeping with Korea's Creative Economy initiative, and she was well-received when she proposed the Creative Economy as a new inclusive innovative economic model that enhances the development potential power of the international economy.

Also, during the summit meeting with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, she discussed various pending issues including economy, national security, etc. and sought to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. Her meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May was the first since Brexit (Britain’s vote to withdraw from the EU). The leaders of both countries discussed plans to overcome the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the slow growth of the international economy, as well as strengthening plans for actual cooperation between the two nations.

By Yeong-Sun, Lee <ys119@dema.mil.kr >

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