Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se has expressed Korea’s will to bolster its partnership and cooperation with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Minister Yun spoke at the 17th ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Meeting, held in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar, on August 9. He shared his opinion with other ASEAN representatives on the Korea-ASEAN relationship and its future direction, specifically focusing on the overall preparation for the special Korea-ASEAN summit scheduled to take place later this year. They also discussed ways to cooperate and support the ASEAN community and other regional issues, including the North Korean nuclear program.


Korea and ASEAN hailed the upcoming Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, which will be held in Busan on December 11 and 12 to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of a dialogue relationship between the two. Both parties agreed to substantially boost the strategic partnership between Korea and ASEAN and to build more comprehensive and mutually beneficial relations.

Minister Yun welcomed the establishment of the "ASEAN community," which will be launched next year. He highly valued the fact that ASEAN has emerged as one of the most exemplary regional communities in East Asia thanks to its continued efforts to boost regional cooperation over the past five decades. He focused on the potential of ASEAN to become one of the locomotives of the world economy, an area which has a combined GDP of USD 2.4 trillion and a population of 0.6 billion people.


Minister Yun exchanged opinions with ASEAN foreign ministers on ways to boost their bilateral relationship by liberalizing trade and investment, going beyond the Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA), and contributions made to ASEAN through the trade pact. ASEAN foreign ministers emphasized the strengthening of cooperation in the forestry sector in order to respond to climate change. The Korean foreign minister expressed Korea’s will to contribute to narrowing development gaps in the region, as the integration of ASEAN is one of the biggest issues to solve. Minister Yun introduced the results of the 4th Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which took place last week in Seoul. He explained the Korean government’s efforts in development cooperation across the region and in areas through which the Mekong River flows, one of key issues involved with ASEAN integration.

Amid the continuing threats and provocations from North Korea, such as the firing of missiles, Minister Yun emphasized the need for ASEAN and the international community to speak with one united voice to encourage Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program and to make the right choice. He further called for ASEAN’s cooperation in this regard.




Meanwhile, Minister Yun also attended the 4th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw. He exchanged views with other meeting participants, discussing the outcome of cooperation among East Asian countries, and issues involving the Korean Peninsula and the East Asian region overall.

The meeting was attended by nine ASEAN foreign ministers, as well as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully.


The participating ministers positively valued the ongoing cooperation among EAS countries, one of the key growth engines of the world economy. EAS member countries focused on deepening cooperation in six priority areas: energy, finance, health, disaster management, education and the EAS’ connectivity with ASEAN. Meeting participants discussed ways to cooperate on fishery resource management for food security, how to root out illegal smuggling of wildlife and on prompt disaster management. They expressed their expectation for more systemic, transparent cooperation activities in the future, based on the Plan of Action (2014-2015) on developing cooperation.

Minister Yun pointed out that maintaining peace and stability in East Asia is a prerequisite for economic growth across the region. He further expressed Korea’s stance on issues involving East Asia and the world. The minister affirmed Seoul’s firm position in which it shows zero-tolerance toward Pyongyang’s nuclear program and its provocations, while making efforts to resolve issues involving the Korean Peninsula through dialogue. He further asked for the cooperation of EAS member countries. He also introduced the South Korean government’s Korean Peninsula trust-building process to make sustainable peace take root across the region, and President Park Geun-hye’s vision for a peaceful reunification of Korea, dubbed the “Dresden Proposals.”

By Wi Tack-whan, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr