Minister Kang Kyung-wha Talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister: "Ensure No Disruptions in People-to-People Exchanges"

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is speaking at a briefing for the foreign diplomatic corps in Korea on COVID-19 held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the afternoon of the 13th, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a phone call with Ine Eriksen Søreide, Norway's Foreign Minister, exchanging views on the global spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and response measures.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 14th, Minister Kang emphasized that the Korean government is responding comprehensively with full force through transparent and open quarantine management based on a high level of diagnostic capability. In response, Minister Søreide highly appreciated Korea's transparent and open response to COVID-19.

Minister Kang particularly requested Norway's cooperation, stating, "The Republic of Korea and Norway are closely cooperating in various fields, and regarding the measures taken by Norway in the COVID-19 response process, please ensure that essential human exchanges proceed without disruption to minimize inconvenience to the citizens of both countries."

The Norwegian government announced that since the 27th of last month, all individuals entering from countries outside the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway), including Norwegian nationals, are subject to mandatory 14-day self-quarantine upon entry.

Minister Søreide responded, "The recent entry restrictions were an unavoidable measure taken due to the rapid increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in Norway and Europe," adding, "Let us continue consultations to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and maintain cooperative relations between our two countries."

Through this call, both ministers agreed on the importance of cooperation between the two countries in response to COVID-19 and decided to continue close communication based on friendly and trusting relations.

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