Korea-Ireland Hold First High-Level Video Conference on Global Issues Policy Consultation... Urge Support for 'Korean Peninsula Peace Process'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 25th, Ham Sang-wook, Director-General for Multilateral Diplomacy Coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held the 1st Korea-Ireland High-Level Global Issues Video Policy Consultation with Sonya Hyland, Political Deputy Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland.

This consultation was held for the first time between Korea and Ireland at Ireland's proposal ahead of its term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2021-2022.

Through this consultation, both Korea and Ireland discussed mutual interests on the international stage, including Ireland's preparations for its 2021-2022 Security Council non-permanent membership, major agenda items of the UN Security Council including the Korean Peninsula issue, Korea's preparations for next year's UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting, recent challenges to multilateralism, and future prospects.

At this meeting, the Korean side requested Ireland's continued interest and support as a non-permanent member of the Security Council related to the Korean Peninsula peace process, and the Irish side expressed support for the Korean government's efforts and stated that close communication at the UN level would continue.

Additionally, Korea conveyed that over 600 of its military and police personnel are currently deployed to five UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) missions, and that Korea ranks 10th worldwide in UN PKO budget contributions. Korea requested Ireland, a major contributor in the peacekeeping field, to actively participate and cooperate for the success of the 4th UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting to be hosted by Korea next year.

Meanwhile, Ireland, ahead of its Security Council non-permanent membership next year, introduced its Security Council membership plan based on three principles: peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and accountability. Both sides agreed to regularize policy consultations.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "This 1st consultation served as an opportunity to strengthen the multilateral cooperation foundation between the two countries by establishing a separate consultation channel on multilateral issues with Ireland, which is about to assume the Security Council non-permanent membership." The official added, "As part of preparations for the 2024-2025 term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to continue bilateral consultations with various Security Council members."

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