1. In Washington DC, the US, on June 16, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Acting Secretary of State Tony Blinken and exchanged views on a range of issues, including the rescheduling of President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the US, the further development of the ROK-US alliance, North Korea and its nuclear issue, and regional and global cooperation.

2. In the meeting, the two sides noted with appreciation the close and smooth coordination between the ROK and the US before and after the decision to reschedule President Park’s visit to the US. They agreed to actively work together to reschedule her visit for the earliest mutually convenient time.

o Acting Secretary of State Blinken stated that President Park’s visit to the US will serve as a good opportunity to further enhance the strong and unparalleled ROK-US alliance, strengthen bilateral cooperation on North Korea and its nuclear issue, and advance global cooperation, adding that he is looking forward to her visit.

3. Acting Secretary of State Blinken said that the ROK-US-Japan vice ministerial-level meeting held in April was very useful and expressed his hope that the three countries will continue to strengthen their trilateral cooperation.

o Minister Yun explained that with this year marking the 50th anniversary of the normalization of the ROK-Japan relations, the ROK government has been making various efforts to improve the ROK-Japan relations based on a correct perception of history. Acting Secretary of State Blinken expressed active support for the ROK’s efforts towards peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

4. On North Korea and its nuclear issue, the ROK and the US agreed to firmly respond to North Korea’s provocations and threats based on their strong allied defense capabilities, and beef up cooperation among the five parties of the Six-Party Talks minus North Korea to make substantive progress in denuclearizing North Korea. They also agreed to continue to make efforts to resume meaningful dialogue, while putting stronger pressure on North Korea.

5. After his meeting with Acting Secretary of State Blinken, Minister Yun met with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman. Minister Yun spoke highly of the efforts of the Under Secretary, who has made outstanding contributions to global peace and security, including in the Iran nuclear negotiations. He also asked the Under Secretary for further efforts to advance the ROK-US alliance.

o Under Secretary Wendy Sherman said that she fully understands President Park’s decision to delay her visit to the US due to the latest MERS outbreak. Mentioning that she believes the ROK will manage the situation well, the Under Secretary reaffirmed the US position that it will not spare any effort to provide related cooperation and support.

6. Meanwhile, Minister Yun had a breakfast meeting with key US scholars on June 16 from 08:15-09:15 and exchanged in-depth views on a wide range of issues, including the development of the ROK-US alliance, North Korea and its nuclear issue, and the situation in East Asia. Minister Yun also met with President John Hamre of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 11:00-11:30. In the meeting, Minister Yun expressed appreciation for the active cooperation the CSIS provided in preparing for President Park’s visit to the US, and requested continued interest and support to further develop the ROK-US alliance.

* The breakfast meeting was attended by former NSC Senior Director for Asian Affairs Jeffrey Bader, CSIS Senior Vice President Michael Green, CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha, Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council Robert Manning, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Douglas Paal, and Executive Director of the US-based National Committee on North Korea (NCNK) Keith Luse.


*unofficial translation