1. First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yong met with his Spanish counterpart, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ignacio Ybáñez Rubio, in Madrid on June 1 for the tenth Republic of Korea-Spain high-level policy consultation. In the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to step up bilateral cooperation.

◦ The two sides reviewed the progress in their friendly and cooperative ties and exchanged views on a wide range of matters, including ways to boost trade and investment as well as substantive cooperation; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia and Europe; and counter-terrorism cooperation at the UN Security Council and on other international stages.

2. The two sides noted with appreciation that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1950, their two countries have worked closely as long-standing friendly partners across the board, including issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, political affairs, economy and culture. With Spain having joined the UN Security Council as one of its non-permanent members, the two delegations agreed to step up cooperation on international issues.

3. The two sides, appreciating the more than 50-percent increase in the two-way trade volume in 2014 from the year before and the steady growth in bilateral investment, agreed to maintain the growth streak by expanding the network for exchanges between businesspeople of the two countries.

◦ Taking note of the increase in joint entries of their companies into third countries in such regions as Latin America and the Middle East, the two sides agreed to expand such joint entries by making the best of their respective strengths. In addition, they agreed to seek substantive cooperation in diverse sectors, including new and renewable energy, science, technology, tourism, culture and education.

4. Vice Minister Cho extended appreciation to Spain for its consistent support for the ROK government’s Korean Peninsula policy and asked the Spanish government to continue paying attention to and supporting the ROK government’s efforts to lay the groundwork for a peaceful unification of the Peninsula.

◦ Secretary of State Ybáñez conveyed the willingness of Spain to continue playing a role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and chair of its North Korea Sanctions Committee toward the resolution of the nuclear and human rights issues of North Korea. The Secretary, expressing support for the ROK government’s unification vision and policy, affirmed continued support and cooperation in that regard.

5. The policy consultation is seen to have served as an opportunity for the two countries to affirm the need to upgrade their 65-year-old friendly and cooperative relationship to one that will facilitate strategic cooperation on regional and global issues. Going forward, the two countries are expected to work toward this end through robust exchanges, including between their high-level officials.

6. In the wake of the policy consultation, Vice Minister Cho visited Casa Asia, Spain’s agency for public diplomacy toward Asia, to exchange views on ways to work together on public diplomacy. Later in the day, he had an interview with El Mundo, the second-largest daily newspaper in Spain, where he discussed the ROK-Spain relations and situations in different regions of the world.


* unofficial translation