1. Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Huh Tae-wan will visit Nicaragua and Honduras from June 9 to 12 and hold policy consultations with the Vice Minister for Foreign Cooperation of Nicaragua and the Under Secretary of State for International Cooperation of Honduras, respectively.

* 2nd ROK-Nicaragua high-level policy consultation (June 9, Managua)
- Head of the delegation of Nicaragua: Vice Minister for Foreign Cooperation Arlette Marenco

* 1st ROK-Honduras high-level policy consultation (June 12, Tegucigalpa)
- Head of the delegation of Honduras: Under Secretary of State for International Cooperation Maria Nasser

2. In the upcoming policy consultations, the two sides will engage in extensive discussions on bilateral issues and ways to enhance mutually-beneficial cooperative relations, including the assessment of bilateral relations; substantive cooperation in trade, investment, development cooperation and consular affairs; cooperation on the global stage; and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Latin America.

o The forthcoming ROK-Honduras policy consultation is the first policy consultation to be held between the ROK and Honduras. In the consultation, the two sides will review the progress in implementing measures to follow up on President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez’s visit to the ROK in July, 2015, as well as exchange a range of views on ways to increase substantive cooperation between the two countries in public safety, education, and health and medical care.

3. The ROK has continuously expanded cooperation with Nicaragua and Honduras on development cooperation and North Korea-related issues. In addition, once the FTA between the ROK and five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) formally enters into force (the FTA was initialed in March, 2017), economic and trade cooperation and exchanges with the two countries are expected to further increase.

4. The upcoming policy consultations are expected to serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the ROK’s friendly and cooperative relations with Nicaragua and Honduras, and create substantial momentum to further strengthen cooperation with the countries on the North Korean nuclear issue and other issues on the global stage, including the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

o On June 9, Director-General Huh will pay a courtesy call on Foreign Minister of Nicaragua Denis Moncada, and discuss issues of mutual interest, including ways to advance the bilateral relations.


* unofficial translation