By Reporter Lee jon young

Minister Park Jin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on July 13 (local time) during the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministerial Meeting held in Jakarta.

This meeting marks the seventh foreign ministerial meeting between South Korea and Japan since May of last year.

Both ministers welcomed the unprecedented level of close communication between the two countries, which has fully restored shuttle diplomacy. They also evaluated the enhanced substantive cooperation in various fields, including diplomacy, security, and the economy, as well as the activation of exchanges between businesses and private sectors of both countries. 

In line with the agreement reached by the leaders of both countries, they decided to coordinate efforts to resume the High-Level Economic Dialogue between South Korea and Japan within this year.

Regarding the issue of Fukushima's contaminated water, Minister Park Jin emphasized the prioritization of the health and safety of our citizens. He stated that the Japanese government must maintain high transparency and reliability while taking necessary measures to ensure scientific safety and provide reassurance to the people. 
In accordance with the discussions between the leaders, he requested real-time monitoring information sharing and necessary actions such as suspension of discharge and immediate notification to the Korean side in case of abnormal situations exceeding the set standards.

Both ministers strongly condemned the long-range ballistic missile launches by North Korea on July 12, emphasizing that it constitutes a significant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions without any justifiable reasons. 

Minister Park expressed deep concern about the fact that North Korea is wasting scarce resources on nuclear and missile development and provocations, neglecting the economic difficulties of its people. 

He suggested that the two countries should continue to strengthen cooperation to create a strategic environment that leaves North Korea with no choice but to return to the path of denuclearization. Furthermore, Minister Park emphasized the need for continued cooperation for the improvement of North Korean human rights and the prompt resolution of various issues related to North Korean human rights, such as repatriated abductees, detainees, and prisoners of war.

Both ministers also shared their opinions on the need to strengthen cooperation and coordination between South Korea and Japan in light of the serious international situation, including the global supply chain crisis and other regional and global issues.

In addition, considering the increasing importance of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region, they agreed on the necessity of expanding cooperation between the two countries in the region.

Furthermore, both ministers agreed on the importance of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan, and China, and Minister Park expressed close cooperation for the early reactivation of trilateral cooperation mechanisms, such as trilateral summit meetings.

Both ministers pledged to maintain close communication to further solidify the momentum for improvement and development of bilateral relations in various fields, including diplomacy, security, economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. They also agreed to promptly implement follow-up measures after the South Korea-Japan summit.