Completed 8-Day, 5-Night Latin America Tour
Bridging Developing and Developed Countries
"Will Continue to Play the Role of a Green Ladder"
Calls for G20 Solidarity Amid Russia-North Korea Cooperation Halt
President Yoon Suk-yeol (center) is attending the 19th G20 Summit held at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 18th (local time), and is taking a commemorative photo with G20 leaders and heads of international organizations who participated in the launch of the Global Alliance for the Eradication of Hunger and Poverty. Photo by Yonhap News
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who visited Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to attend the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, concluded his 5-night, 8-day Latin America tour on the 19th (local time). During this tour, President Yoon strongly condemned the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and called for solidarity among G20 leaders, while acting as a bridge between developing and developed countries to implement global responsible diplomacy.
On the morning of the same day, at Session 3 of the G20 summit themed "Sustainable Development and Energy Transition," President Yoon stated, "Efforts for energy transition must be pursued simultaneously to achieve greater innovation in addressing plastic pollution and digital innovation," adding, "South Korea will continue to play the role of a green ladder supporting climate-vulnerable countries' climate response capabilities." In particular, he urged G20 leaders to support the Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Initiative to expand the use and dissemination of various clean energy sources, including nuclear power.
The key achievement of President Yoon’s participation in the G20 summit was rallying international solidarity to uphold the rules-based international order. President Yoon expressed strong concerns about the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and urged G20 leaders to unite in action. He remarked, "The outcome of the Ukraine war is a critical test to determine whether the international community can block attempts to change the status quo by coercion and protect peace and prosperity," and called on G20 leaders to demonstrate their will and unite in action to defend the rules-based order.
Yoon’s Sharp Criticism of Russia-North Korea... U.S., Japan, EU, Canada, Australia Join In
Especially, on the 18th, as the 10th speaker in Session 1, President Yoon urged the international community to join forces to halt military cooperation. His strong criticism of Russia-North Korea military cooperation drew attention as it came immediately after remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who attended in place of President Vladimir Putin. The leaders of the United States, Japan, the European Union (EU), Canada, and Australia also sharpened their criticism of Russia-North Korea cooperation, forming a coordinated front. The first session, which began in the morning, extended well beyond the scheduled time by two hours due to heated debates and additional remarks from invited countries. In the afternoon’s second session, leaders from Germany, Japan, and others continued to criticize Russia-North Korea military cooperation.
South Africa Holds Bilateral Talks with UK Leader
On the 19th, President Yoon engaged in close communication through bilateral talks with the leaders of South Africa and the United Kingdom. He held a summit with Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, and agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in various fields such as trade, investment, and energy. President Yoon introduced preparations to launch the "Korea-Africa Critical Minerals Dialogue" during the ‘Mining Indaba’ forum to be held in South Africa in February next year and requested President Ramaphosa’s interest. The Mining Indaba is Africa’s largest annual mining forum held in Cape Town, South Africa, since 1994.
The two leaders agreed to continue cooperating to send a firm message from the international community regarding North Korea’s provocations and violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, including the dispatch of combat troops to Russia. They also agreed to maintain close communication to ensure the successful hosting of the South African G20 summit, the first in Africa, next year.
Following this, President Yoon held a summit with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and exchanged views on issues including responses to Russia-North Korea cooperation. President Yoon evaluated the ongoing close communication between the two countries, noting that this summit follows the Korea-UK summit held during the NATO summit in July and the strategic dialogue between the two countries’ foreign ministers in October, reflecting the ‘global strategic partnership’ between the two nations.
In particular, they agreed to communicate more closely to launch the ‘Diplomatic and Defense 2+2 Meeting,’ advance defense industry cooperation, achieve early results in improving the Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, and strengthen cooperation in the Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) sector. They also shared assessments of the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula and developments related to illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, agreeing to cooperate closely for a unified response.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is holding a Korea-South Africa summit with Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 19th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News
"Korea’s Emphasized Themes Reflected in G20 Leaders’ Declaration"
Implementing ‘global responsible diplomacy’ was also cited as a major achievement. President Yoon actively took steps to serve as a bridge connecting developing and developed countries. He attended the launch ceremony of the ‘Global Alliance for Food Security and Poverty Eradication’ in Session 1 and announced, "We plan to provide new humanitarian aid worth 10 million USD within this year to respond to Africa’s food crisis." The scale of food aid will be expanded to 150,000 tons next year, and at the ‘21st replenishment final meeting of the International Development Association (IDA)’ to be held in Seoul this December, South Korea plans to increase its contribution to 845.6 billion KRW, a 45% increase from 584.8 billion KRW in 2021. The Korean government also plans to contribute an additional 30 million USD to the pandemic fund from 2026 to 2028, in addition to the existing 30 million USD contribution.
The Presidential Office stated, "President Yoon’s attendance at the G20 summit for three consecutive years, actively voicing cooperation between developing and developed countries and issues related to climate and energy, signifies the implementation of responsible diplomacy as a global pivotal country," adding, "It is also positive that four key themes emphasized and proposed by South Korea were reflected in major items of the G20 leaders’ declaration, which consists of a total of 85 articles." These include ▲ urging countries to secure sound fiscal policies (Article 5), ▲ efforts to reduce plastics reflecting implications from the ‘5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee Meeting for the UN Plastic Treaty’ to be held in Busan (Article 58), ▲ use and development of artificial intelligence (AI) based on principles of inclusion, safety, and innovation (Article 77), and ▲ deepening international solidarity through the expansion of Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) in response to the climate crisis (Article 42).
Furthermore, with the Global South (mainly emerging and developing countries located in the Southern Hemisphere) holding the chairmanship for four consecutive years from 2022 to next year, and the increased emphasis on development agendas, South Korea’s responsible diplomacy stance has gained greater relevance.
On the 18th (local time), the 1st session of the 19th G20 Summit is being held at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with President Yoon Suk-yeol in attendance. Yonhap News
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