Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a Foreign Ministerial Meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly in Seoul to exchange views on bilateral relations, regional and global developments on July 18.
The two ministers noted that recent exchanges and communications between the leaders and ministers of the two countries demonstrate the importance that both sides attach to the Korea-Canada relationship, and adopted the Korea-Canada Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Action Plan as a follow-up to the May 2023 Korea-Canada Summit. The Action Plan is designed to implement the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and includes future cooperation directions and specific cooperation projects in five key areas.
Based on the Action Plan, the two ministers will systematically implement the agreements reached at the summit and further develop the bilateral relationship.
In particular, the two ministers agreed to further institutionalize security and defense cooperation by holding the “2+2 Diplomatic and Defense High-level Meeting” as soon as possible to enhance joint responses to global security threats and strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in defense.
They also agreed to continue preparations for the next 2+2 High-level Economic and Security Dialogue, which is scheduled to be held later this month, and to continue working together to further promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges and deepen ties between the two countries’ peoples in the wake of the Memorandum of Understanding for the 2024-25 Mutual Cultural Exchange Year signed last month.
The two ministers expressed grave concern over the DPRK’s decision to strengthen mutual military and economic cooperation through the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, and decided to take firm action in solidarity with the international community against the DPRK’s military cooperation in violation of Security Council resolutions.
Minister Cho appreciated Canada’s participation in the joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of the United States and Canada on the independent sanctions against Russian military cooperation with North Korea and looked forward to continued cooperation.
Joly reaffirmed Canada’s steadfast support for North Korea’s denuclearization efforts, noting that the united will and cooperation of friendly nations is urgently needed. The two ministers also discussed deepening bilateral cooperation on North Korean human rights issues and working together to build consensus in the international community.
Cho expressed Canada’s interest in the upcoming Second High-Level Conference on the Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence (REAIM), scheduled to be held in Seoul this September, and encouraged the two countries to work closely together on AI governance in the military.
Cho also asked for Canada’s continued interest and support in strengthening Korea-G7 cooperation as the host of the G7 Summit in 2025, and Joly said she would continue to work with Korea to ensure a successful meeting on the 50th anniversary of the G7.
The two ministers also discussed a wide range of issues of common interest, including the situation in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and the trends and prospects of the US presidential election.
