Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is visiting Johannesburg, South Africa, to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, held bilateral talks with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia on the 20th (local time), exchanging views on US relations, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and issues such as illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 21st, Minister Cho held consecutive bilateral meetings with Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Minister, and David Lammy, UK Foreign Minister, discussing the international situation including these issues. They also agreed to maintain close communication and cooperation on shared interests and major international issues such as the war in Ukraine and the global situation in the Indo-Pacific region.
On the 20th (local time), at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs (right), and Penny Wong, Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a bilateral meeting and took a commemorative photo. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Meanwhile, Minister Cho attended the 27th MIKTA Foreign Ministers' Meeting held at 11 a.m. on the 20th during this trip. MIKTA is a cross-regional consultative group consisting of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, T?rkiye, and Australia, launched in September 2013. Korea is serving as the chair country of MIKTA this year. During the chairmanship, Korea plans to focus on peacebuilding, youth empowerment, and accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as key agenda items.
At the MIKTA Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Minister Cho stated, "The illegal weapons support and troop dispatch between Russia and North Korea are worsening the situation in Ukraine and prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people," urging MIKTA member countries to jointly call on North Korea to halt provocations and return to dialogue.
He also emphasized, "In the context of escalating geopolitical conflicts and intensifying armed conflicts, we must not forget the 'people' who suffer amid these situations," and urged that "MIKTA, as a capable and responsible cross-regional consultative group, needs to continue paying attention and providing support to them." He expressed particular concern over ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti, calling for efforts by MIKTA member countries to improve the humanitarian situation.
The MIKTA foreign ministers attending the meeting also expressed serious concern over humanitarian crises in Gaza, Ukraine, and other regions, and agreed on the necessity to expand humanitarian aid, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
On the 20th (local time) in Johannesburg, South Africa, Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs (fourth from the left), along with senior officials from MIKTA member countries, are posing for a commemorative photo. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Meanwhile, the MIKTA ministers adopted a joint communiqu? reaffirming their commitment to addressing international issues including the North Korean problem, and reaffirming MIKTA's core principles such as the promotion of democracy, international law, and multilateralism. In the joint communiqu?, MIKTA member countries expressed grave concern over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile launches, urging North Korea to comply with all United Nations Security Council resolutions. They also noted the international community's efforts to achieve North Korea's complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) peacefully.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "This meeting is evaluated as an opportunity to strengthen the institutional foundation of MIKTA by effectively delivering a message to reinforce multilateralism and discussing concrete ways to enhance cooperation among MIKTA foreign ministers, who are part of a cross-regional consultative group." He added, "Based on the outcomes of the meeting, Korea plans to lead MIKTA's efforts to strengthen multilateralism and address global challenges as the chair country in 2025."
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