1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Lee Jeong-kyu, together with Director-General for Political Affairs Andre Haspels of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held the fifth Republic of Korea-Netherlands policy consultation in Seoul on June 2. In the meeting, the two ranking diplomats extensively discussed ways for the ROK and the Netherlands to deepen their comprehensive, future-oriented partnership; the North Korean nuclear issue and the situation on the Korean Peninsula; and global issues.

※ The fifth policy consultation came pursuant to the agreement reached at the bilateral summit talks in September 2016 to hold the meeting on a regular basis.

2. The Deputy Minister and the Director-General, hailing the upgrade of the bilateral relations to comprehensive, future-oriented partnership in 2016, the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations, agreed to step up substantive cooperation in such promising sectors as nuclear as well as new and renewable energy.

° Deputy Minister Lee voiced hope that the ROK and the Netherlands, a winter sports powerhouse, will use the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as an opportunity to further boost exchanges between them. Director-General Haspels stated that the Netherlands will work closely with the ROK to make a success of the Games.

3. The two ranking diplomats shared the view that the ROK and the Netherlands, global partners with such shared values as human rights and democracy, hold a common strategic understanding in terms of addressing cyber security, human rights and other global issues. They agreed to remain highly cooperative and communicative with each other at the UN and on other international stages.

° In particular, Deputy Minister Lee voiced hope that the Netherlands, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018, will play a constructive role for international peace and security.

4. In addition, the Deputy Minister extended appreciation to the Netherlands for its cooperation on the Security Council and the EU’s sanctions against North Korea designed to resolve the North’s nuclear issue; spoke of the ROK government’s plan to use all means, including sanctions and dialogue, to seek a fundamental solution to the North Korean nuclear issue; and asked the Dutch government to render support in that regard in a continuous and active way.

° Director-General Haspels reaffirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to continue steadfast coordination with the ROK for the denuclearization of North Korea as well as for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

5. The first ROK-Netherlands high-level consultation since the launch of the new government in the ROK is seen to have served as a good opportunity to discuss ways for the two countries to work together on bilateral and global issues.


* unofficial translation