1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se attended the opening ceremony of the “2016 Korea-Latin America Partnership: Towards a Shared Vision for Future Cooperation” event on June 29. At the ceremony, he suggested that the Republic of Korea and Latin America work together to brace for the era of the fourth industrial revolution in the 21st century based on creativity and imagination.

° The opening ceremony of the event, which is under way in Seoul from June 29 till July 1 under the title of “Challenges and Opportunities for Korea-Latin America Partnership,” brought together some 700 people, including Latin America experts, entrepreneurs and younger generation of the ROK, who will seek the way forward for cooperation between the ROK and Latin America.

2. In his opening remarks, Minister Yun proposed that the ROK and Latin America enhance in a mutually complementary manner their partnership for co-prosperity and the public good of the global community as well as between their future generations.

° Partnership for co-prosperity
- Mutually complementary economic partnership through the ROK’s strategy to create new growth engines and Latin America’s strategy to achieve national development for inclusive growth and reduced inequality

° Partnership to promote universal values of humanity and the public good of the global community
- Partnership in the fields of development and security, including the post-2015 sustainable development goals, the building and maintenance of peace, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)

° Partnership between future generations
- Partnership through enhanced government-to-government (G2G) and business-to-business (B2B) connectivity and increased people-to-people (P2P) exchanges between future generations of the two regions

3. In particular, Minister Yun extended appreciation to Latin American countries for their all-out support on issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and asked them to send a strong warning message to North Korea in response to its repeated provocations, including the fourth nuclear test.

° In that regard, he underscored the need for Latin American countries, which had created the world’s first nuclear-free zone under the Tlatelolo Treaty, to take an active part in efforts to pressure North Korea for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

4. Minister Yun explained in detail the ROK’s efforts to enhance connectivity for closer relations with the region as well as results from such efforts.

° The Minister cited the ROK’s efforts to step up strategic communication on summit, foreign ministerial and other high levels; to enhance connectivity with Latin America’s subregional groups; to expand the FTA networks; and to boost people-to-people exchanges.

5. Ahead of the opening ceremony, Minister Yun held a luncheon with minister-level figures from the participating Latin American countries and international organizations and exchanged views with them on matters of mutual concern, including the situations in Latin America and on the Korean Peninsula.

° The Minister met bilaterally with Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan of the Ibero-American Community (IAC) for discussions on the ROK’s bid to join the IAC as an observer and ways for the ROK and the IAC to work together.


* unofficial translation