Minister Kang Kyung-hwa Holds Video Conference with European Ambassadors on the 17th to Review COVID-19 Situation

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is speaking at a briefing for the 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] Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is holding a video conference with heads of major European diplomatic missions to review the situation of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spreading in Europe and discuss response measures.

With more than 24,000 confirmed cases in Italy alone, the European Union (EU) has proposed restricting travel by foreigners to Europe for 30 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Spokesperson Kim In-cheol explained, "Minister Kang plans to review the spread of COVID-19 in the European region and movement restrictions with the attending mission chiefs, and discuss measures to protect overseas nationals and cooperation strategies with regional countries."

Minister Kang is also promoting a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting among Korea, China, and Japan regarding COVID-19 response. A Foreign Ministry official said, "There are no specific details yet about the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting, but a video conference is possible. Since director-general level consultations have begun, it seems necessary to hold it soon." The meeting is expected to focus on discussions about entry restrictions.

The trilateral director-general level meeting among Korea, China, and Japan has gained momentum as Japan has shown a more proactive stance. A Foreign Ministry official said, "Initially, China was the most proactive, and Japan was relatively passive, but recently Japan has turned proactive, leading to the meeting's realization. This change in Japan's stance seems linked to the COVID-19 situation."

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