Policy paper

UK-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministerial Strategic Dialogue 2022: joint statement

Published 28 September 2022

This was published under the 2022 Truss Conservative government

1. Rt. Hon James Cleverly, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and H.E. Mr Park Jin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea held the UK-ROK Foreign Ministerial Strategic Dialogue on 28th September 2022 in Seoul.

2. Reviewing the UK-ROK Bilateral Framework for Closer Cooperation agreed between Leaders in June 2022, Foreign Minister Park and Foreign Secretary Cleverly reiterated their commitment to advancing security, energy, digital, economic, health and development cooperation between the UK and the ROK. In the context of external challenges from climate change, COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to defending freedom, maintaining regional security and upholding the rules based international order.

3. The Ministers welcomed high-level exchanges between the two countries since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in May that includes a summit meeting and three encounters between the two Leaders, three ministerial level meetings including todays’ strategic dialogue. The Foreign Secretary also expressed his appreciation for President Yoon and the First Lady’s visit to London to attend the funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Bilateral cooperation

4. Minister Park and Foreign Secretary Cleverly noted that 2023 would mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and the ROK and discussed ideas for marking the milestone including high-level meetings, people-to-people exchanges and implementation of the Bilateral Framework.

5. The Ministers highlighted the strong economic ties that exist between the UK and the ROK including through the UK-ROK Free Trade Agreement, and acknowledged the shared commitment to start work to upgrade our bilateral Free Trade Agreement, the existing Joint Economic Trade Committee, and the new Supply Chains Dialogue, to enhance our economic and trade relationship. The Ministers agreed to hold the first UK-ROK Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) at a mutually convenient time, which will provide opportunities to strengthen economic cooperation on various issues of common interests, including economic security.

6. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace. In support of these aims, both sides committed to hold the next UK-ROK Cyber Dialogue in early 2023.

7. Acknowledging the progress towards greater interoperability between the UK and the ROK Armed forces, the Ministers highlighted planned joint exercises and senior level discussions including the first Strategic Defence and Security Exchange in July 2022. They welcomed the recent signing of Terms of Reference on Space Engagement Talks between the UK Royal Air Force and the ROK Air Force, committing to greater collaboration and alignment in the Space domain. Also, both sides agreed to continue discussion to partner in the maritime domain, in accordance with the Framework.

8. Highlighting the shared challenge of energy security in the context of global uncertainty, the Ministers agreed to strengthen collaboration on energy policy, including civil nuclear and renewable energy. They recognised the importance of nuclear power as a critical and carbon neutral source of energy and welcomed detailed early stage discussions between the UK and the ROK on cooperation to strengthen nuclear supply chains. They also welcomed planning to hold a Civil Nuclear Dialogue and to hold the inaugural UK-ROK Industry and Energy Dialogue, as mechanisms for deepening cooperation in energy policy, related technology and further accelerating discussions on nuclear collaboration.

9. Recognising the respective strengths of our two economies, the Ministers noted collective desire to increase bilateral trade, reduce market access barriers, and support world-class investment as a means for economic growth and job creation. In particular, Ministers noted opportunity for further collaboration in the Green infrastructure sector and the provision of greater support for SMEs seeking to bridge the gap between the UK and the ROK.

10. Reaffirming their commitment to advance development cooperation between the UK and ROK, the Ministers agreed to continue further discussions on the occasion of the annual UK-ROK Development Cooperation Policy Dialogue. The Ministers agreed to explore the area of common interests in the field of development cooperation and identify potential joint projects in the Indo-Pacific region.

11. The Ministers confirmed their desire for closer digital cooperation committing to finalising a Digital Partnership between our digital ministries (MSIT-DCMS) to deepen our bilateral engagement across digital infrastructure, economic security, digital technical standards and online safety, and to steer closer cooperation on critical and emerging technologies.

12. Building on the excellent exchange of information and cooperation during the COVID pandemic, including the bilateral vaccine swap at the end of 2021, the Ministers noted the progression towards a Health MOU between the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, confirming their hope for the MOU to be agreed. They also commended the MOU signed between the UK Health Security Agency and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in May 2022 to deepen collaboration in the field of disease control and prevention, which will be supported by official secondments between agencies to exchange expertise.

13. The Ministers recognised the strength of the long-standing bilateral relationship in science and research cooperation. They noted that the UK will host the next bilateral meetings between the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare in early 2023. The Ministers noted the recent selection of seven SME-led innovation projects enabled by £4 million of funding via Innovate UK and the ROK Institute for Advancement of Technology, as well as ongoing discussions between the UK and the ROK research funding bodies for further programmes in 2023, as an indication of the intent for the two countries to continue to expand academic and industry research exchange and collaboration.

International cooperation

14. Both sides emphasised the need to strengthen international cooperation. Minister Park explained ROK’s vision for the future to address the global challenges by hosting an international event in Korea and requested UK’s collaboration.

15. Minister Park and Foreign Secretary Cleverly expressed their solidarity with, and unwavering support for, Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of each country’s respective measures to deter further Russian aggression, and to upholding the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

16. The Ministers confirmed their support for an ambitious and expedited global clean energy transition towards net zero by 2050, consistent with a 1.5°C warming limit and implementation of the Glasgow Climate Pact. This is essential to achieving international climate, security, and economic recovery objectives. They committed to deepen discussions to ensure ambitious outcomes at the forthcoming Convention on Biological Diversity COP15. And they welcomed recent UK and ROK commitments to the new Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership. The Ministers also noted progress towards reducing emissions from vehicles and power generation.

17. Ministers committed to strengthening critical supply chain resilience, building on the Critical Supply Chain Resilience MOU signed in February. The UK and the ROK will explore deeper collaboration including by sharing approaches to building mutual capability, coordination of joint principles and responses to economic shocks, and working together in multilateral fora including, but not limited to, G7+ and G20.

18. The Ministers recognised the valuable role that the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) plays in supporting green growth and green transition in developing countries and reaffirmed their support for the work of the organization.

19. The Ministers recognised progress to date in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic but acknowledged that there remain significant gaps in the global response to the current health crisis. Challenges remain to address equity in this COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemic preparedness. The Ministers committed to working with the international community and through multinational fora, including the WHO to address gaps in the global COVID-19 vaccination campaign, including a focus on vulnerable groups, expanding emphasis and support for frontline health workers and necessary equipment.

Regional cooperation

20. Minister Park and Foreign Secretary Cleverly emphasised their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They reiterated their opposition to any provocation including launches that use ballistic missile technology. They reaffirmed that a DPRK nuclear test will be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community. The Ministers committed to increase co-operation to tackle illicit cyber activities from DPRK and to work together to ensure full implementation of sanctions. They also highlighted the importance of diplomacy and dialogue, and Foreign Secretary Cleverly expressed his support for the ROK’s ‘Audacious Initiative’ for a denuclearised, peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula.

21. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to strengthen mutual cooperation across the region. They reiterated their support for ASEAN Centrality and ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific as ASEAN Dialogue Partners. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of upholding UNCLOS, including freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea. Sharing their concerns regarding human rights situations in the Indo-Pacific region, they committed to promoting human rights globally.

22. The Ministers instructed their officials to follow up on the outcomes of the meeting and report to the next Strategic Dialogue. They endeavoured to hold this in the UK in 2023.