Kim Geon Deputy Minister Meets with Myanmar Deputy Minister... Discusses Korea-Myanmar Relations and Korean Peninsula Situation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 5th, Kim Geon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a luncheon meeting following a meeting with Soe Han, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussing bilateral relations between Korea and Myanmar, Korea-ASEAN cooperation, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister Kim emphasized the significance of continuing the momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries through this meeting and luncheon, amid the strengthening of friendly cooperative relations following the state visit of our president to Myanmar in September last year and the visit of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to Korea during the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit in November.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Deputy Minister Kim and Deputy Minister Soe Han welcomed the fact that the number of Koreans visiting Myanmar in the first half of last year increased by more than 80% compared to the previous year after the Myanmar government's visa exemption measure for our citizens, and expressed hope that human exchanges between the two countries would further expand through the launch of new direct flight routes by Myanmar airlines."

Since the implementation of the Myanmar government's visa exemption measure, the number of Koreans visiting Myanmar in the first half of 2019 increased by approximately 84% compared to the first half of the previous year. The Myanmar government extended the visa exemption measure for one year from the day after the original expiration date on September 2 last year.

Furthermore, Deputy Minister Kim and Deputy Minister Soe Han agreed on the great potential for expanding practical cooperation between the two countries and pledged to actively cooperate to smoothly promote follow-up projects of the summit, including the establishment of the 'Korea Desk' and the development of the 'Korea-Myanmar Economic Cooperation Industrial Complex' and 'Dala New Town,' which were agreed upon during the state visit to Myanmar.

Additionally, Deputy Minister Kim and Deputy Minister Soe Han evaluated the successful hosting of the 'Korea-ASEAN Special Summit and the 1st Korea-Mekong Summit' at the end of November last year and mentioned continuing cooperation at the upcoming Korea-ASEAN and Korea-Mekong high-level meetings to be held this year.

Meanwhile, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "Deputy Minister Kim expressed gratitude for Myanmar's support of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, and in response, Deputy Minister Soe Han stated that Myanmar would continue to actively support our government's efforts for denuclearization and peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.