Published : Sept. 15, 2015 - 18:31
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and European Council President Donald Tusk held summit talks in Seoul on Tuesday and agreed to boost multifaceted cooperation on bilateral and global issues spanning fields of politics, security, economy and science.
The two leaders praised progress made in their strategic partnership and discussed pending issues including the current situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Park and Tusk also shared their views on North Korea’s nuclear ambition, condemning Pyongyang for its development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They also urged North Korea to return to the long-stalled six-party talks.
“(The leaders) called on the DPRK (North Korea) to cease all related activities immediately as required by the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,” according to a joint press statement released after their summit.
“They called on the DPRK to fully comply with its obligations under the relevant U.N. Council resolutions and to refrain from any further provocation.”
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and European Council President Donald Tusk shake hands Tuesday after their joint news conference at Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)
After the talks, the presidents held a joint press conference followed by dinner.
Tusk arrived in Korea on Monday for a three-day visit including a trip to the demilitarized zone.
The last Korea-EU summit was held in November 2013 during Park’s visit to Brussels, Belgium.
This is the first meeting between Park and Tusk, who assumed his post last year.
Cheong Wa Dae explained that the talks with EU were all the more significant following her visit to China earlier this month and ahead of Park’s visit to the U.S. in her third year in office to further strengthen ties with the world’s major power.
EU is Korea’s largest foreign investor and third-largest trade partner.
While it is customary for the European Commission president to join such high-level summits, Cheong Wa Dae explained that the current chief Jean-Claude Juncker could not attend due to his inevitable schedule. His place was taken by Cecilia Malmstrom, the European commissioner for trade.
“South Korea is the only country that has signed all three major treaties with the EU on politics, economy and global security. The summit talks are expected to pave the way for the two sides to upgrade their relations to a higher level,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of customary anonymity.
Korea and the EU signed the Framework Agreement in 2010, a free trade agreement in 2010 and the Framework Agreement for the Participation of Korea in EU Crisis Management Operations last year.
During the talks, both sides also agreed to explore ways to improve investment norms, considering that the FTA does not include provisions on investment protection, according to the statement.
The crisis management treaty is currently awaiting the National Assembly’s ratification. When it goes into effect, Korea and EU are expected to cooperate on global security issues including antipiracy measures.
The presidential office also underscored EU’s efforts to address North Korea’s human rights problems while maintaining dialogue with the reclusive regime.
By Cho Chung-un (
christory@heraldcorp.com)