S. Korean FM meets with diplomats from Netherlands, other nations on bilateral ties

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 01:23

Foreign Affairs

S. Korean FM meets with diplomats from Netherlands, other nations on bilateral ties

Posted : 2023-09-24 13:29

Updated : 2023-09-25 09:20

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, left, and new Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot shake hands prior to their talks in New York, Sept. 22, in this photo released by Seou's foreign ministry. Yonhap

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin held a series of meetings with his counterparts from the Netherlands and others for discussions on bolstering cooperation as he attended the U.N. General Assembly last week, his ministry said Sunday.

Park and his new Dutch counterpart, Hanke Bruins Slot, met on Friday (New York time), to discuss bilateral cooperation in semiconductors and regional security, and agreed to work together to ensure a stable supply chain of chips, according to the ministry.

ASML, a Dutch chip equipment maker, is the world's sole producer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which are critical to making advanced chips.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are among the ASML's biggest clients.

In the meeting, Park expressed deep concerns over discussions of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia during the recent summit meeting between their leaders, and stressed that Seoul will cooperate with its partners to respond sternly to any violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Separately, he held discussions with Uganda's Vice President Jessica Alupo to request the country's support in South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern city of Busan, as well as the Ugandan president's attendance at the Korea-Africa special summit meeting to be held in Seoul next year.

Park also met with his counterparts from Gambia, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone, according to the ministry.

On the margins of the U.N. General Assembly, Park also attended a ministerial meeting with MIKTA members ― Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia ― to deal with follow-up measures to issues discussed at a Group of 20 meeting in India earlier this month, his office said.

MIKTA, an acronym for the five countries' names, is an informal multilateral consultative body set up in 2013 to strengthen partnerships among the middle-power nations. (Yonhap)