Minister Kang Kyung-wha: "Minimizing Economic and Social Impact Necessary"... First Korea-China-Japan Foreign Ministers' Video Conference on COVID-19 Response

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] As countries around the world are raising their border thresholds, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held the first video conference on the morning of the 20th at 10:30 a.m. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' comprehensive situation room with Wang Yi, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, and Motegi Toshimitsu, Japanese Foreign Minister, to jointly respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

In her opening remarks at the video conference, Minister Kang said, "The three of our countries need to consider not only blocking the spread of COVID-19 but also minimizing the contraction of exchanges and cooperation among our citizens caused by this situation, as well as the economic and social shocks." She added, "I hope this momentum will be strengthened to share our three countries' experiences and situations and to communicate and cooperate more closely through various trilateral cooperation channels."

This is the first time that the foreign ministers of the three countries have come together to jointly respond to the global spread of COVID-19. It came just three days after Kim Jeong-han, Director of the Asia-Pacific Bureau, Wu Jianghao, Director of the Asian Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Takizawa Kishigeki, Director of the Asia-Oceania Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held the first director-level meeting by phone on the 17th and agreed to promote a foreign ministers' meeting.

Japan, which had been passive in communication among the three countries, is reportedly showing a more proactive attitude. The Japanese government imposed comprehensive entry restrictions on South Korea starting from the 9th without prior consultation and had consistently been passive in dialogue since then.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said regarding the previously held director-level meeting, "We have always held the position that there is no reason not to consult," adding, "Japan had been passive, but it seems that due to the necessity of quarantine measures, they have recently turned proactive, leading to the meeting's success."

At this video conference, the foreign ministers of Korea, China, and Japan are expected to jointly seek ways to refrain from excessive measures that could damage trilateral or bilateral exchanges and cooperation and to allow exceptional entry for businesspeople. The Korean government has emphasized through various diplomatic channels the need for exceptional allowances for essential personnel involved in economic exchanges, such as businesspeople.

Meanwhile, the number of countries imposing entry restrictions on travelers from Korea has reached 171 (as of 6 p.m. on the 19th). Among them, 112 countries have imposed entry bans on all regions of Korea, and 5 countries have imposed entry bans on certain regions.

The number of countries that have effectively implemented lockdown measures by banning all foreign nationals from entry is 66 (as of 9 p.m. on the 19th). In the Asia-Pacific region, eight countries including Taiwan, Macao, Malaysia, Australia, and Nepal have implemented such measures, while 23 countries in Europe have taken similar actions.

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