1. During her visit to Bratislava, the Slovak Republic, for a Republic of Korea-Visegrad Group (V4) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on June 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček. In the meeting, the two Ministers discussed the way forward for the Republic of Korea-Czech Republic relations; substantive cooperation, including on trade, investment, science, technology, and information and communications technology (ICT); and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

2. Minister Petříček conveyed deep sympathy to the Korean people over the recent boat accident in the Danube River in Hungary; and stated that the Czech government, on its part, will cooperate actively in handling the aftermath of the accident.

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° Minister Kang, extending appreciation to the Czech government for its heartfelt sympathy, asked it to continue to pay attention and cooperate until the end of the follow-up on the accident, including the search operations for the missing.

3. The two Ministers, taking note of the active operation of cooperative mechanisms between the two countries in various fields, including the Joint Economic Commission and the Cyber Policy Consulation, agreed to make active efforts to further increase mutual understanding and exchanges between the peoples of the two countries that will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2020.

4. The two Ministers expressed pleasure with active economic activities of many Korean enterprises in the Czech Republic; and took note of the recent, steady growth of the bilateral trade volume.

° Minister Kang extended appreciation to the Czech government for supporting the ROK’s position in the process of the European Union (EU) deciding to impose definitive safeguard measures on certain steel products; and asked the Czech government to continue to pay attention and render support to ensure that in the EU’s review process, the quota for the ROK is expanded.

5. The two Ministers discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation to such areas as science, ICT and innovation.

° Minister Petříček voiced hope for cooperation with the ROK in science and ICT-related areas, including digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), nano-technology, and cyber matters.

6. Minister Kang explained the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and the ROK government’s efforts to establish peace on and achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Minister Petříček expressed continued support for the ROK government’s efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.

7. The ROK-Czech Republic foreign ministerial meeting is seen to have served as a useful opportunity to seek ways to step up substantive cooperation with the Czech Republic ahead of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2020; as well as an opportunity to be assured of the Czech government’s commitment to cooperation in handling the aftermath of the boat accident in Hungary.

* unofficial translation