First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic met today with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Kang Kyung-wha who is on a working visit to the Republic of Serbia.

Minister Dacic expressed his satisfaction over the meeting with Minister Kang, especially in view of the fact that this was the first visit of a Foreign Minister from the Republic of Korea to our country since 1990. They expressed pleasure at the development of overall relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Korea which would mark an important event this year – 30 years since they established diplomatic relations.
Minister Dacic again offered deepest condolences to the people of the Republic of Korea and the families of the nationals of the Republic of Korea who lost their lives in an accident on the Danube in Budapest on 29 May 2019. He stated that the Republic of Serbia was fully determined to continue the search operations for victims in its territorial waters, which started immediately after the tragedy occurred.

As for the question of Kosovo and Metohija, the Minister informed Minister Kang in detail of the current situation expressing his expectation that the Republic of Korea would continue to exercise moderation and restraint pending the reaching of a mutually acceptable solution through dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Minister Dacic expressed full readiness of the Republic of Serbia for continuation of a positive trend of development of bilateral relations in all areas, especially in the field of economy as well as an interest in a larger presence of Korean companies in Serbia.

Minister Dacic also reiterated his support to the process of easing the tensions and warming up the relations on the Korean peninsula, while respecting all relevant UN Security Council resolutions aimed at denuclearization and the region's full stability.

Minster Kang agreed with the assessment of bilateral relations, emphasizing the readiness of the Korean side for their further promotion in all areas. In addition to stepping up political dialogue and exchange of visits between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Korea, she indicated that there was a sizable potential for further development of economic cooperation, especially in the field of investment and presence of Korean companies in Serbia. She underlined the importance of further promotion of successful bilateral cooperation in IT sector and digitalization.
Minister Kang informed her Serbian counterpart of the current situation on the Korean peninsula, expressing gratitude to the Republic of Serbia for its position articulated also in its official statements in support of a peaceful solution to this issue. She confirmed that the Republic of Korea would continue to maintain a restrained position regarding the question of Kosovo and Metohija, fully supporting the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Minister Kang expressed gratitude of the people of the Republic of Korea for the operations undertaken by the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia in search of victims in the wake of the accident that took place on 29 May in Budapest, pleading that the Serbian side continue with these efforts.