India Reiterates Support For Peace on Korean Peninsula

New Delhi: India on Wednesday reiterated its support for peace and stability in the Korean peninsula following the Ninth India-Korea Joint Commission Meeting co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. “I reiterated government of India’s continued support to the efforts being made by (South Korean) President Moon (Jae-in) to address the Korean nuclear issue and promote inter-Korean ties through dialogue and negotiation, and expressed our sincere hopes that these efforts will bear fruits to usher in a new era of peace and stability in the Korean peninsula,” Sushma Swaraj said in a joint address to the media with Kang following the meeting.

Kang said both sides shared their views on the situation in the Korean peninsula “and resolved to work closely together and maintain consultations for complete denuclearisation as well as lasting peace in the Korean peninsula”. “Minister Swaraj welcomed the Korean government’s efforts for peace in the Korean peninsula and expressed continued support,” she said. Both leaders also discussed regional and global issues of common interest and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

While New Delhi’s Act East Policy seeks to increase India’s engagements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional bloc, Seoul’s New Southern Policy, announced by President Moon in November last year, seeks to make Asean a diplomatic and economic partner as important as the global superpowers.

Kang said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea in 2015 during which the bilateral relationship was elevated to that of a Special Strategic Partnership, “our bilateral relationship is rising to a new level with the synergy generated by President Moon’s New Southern Policy and Prime Minister Modi’s Act East Policy, as well as visits to India by President Moon in July and First Lady Kim in November this year”. (IANS)

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