By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul invited the European diplomatic corps in Korea to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a tea meeting on July 16. Minister Cho spoke on Korea's policy direction towards Europe, noting the importance of continuing cooperation between Korea and Europe based on universal values and expressing Korea's will to expand cooperation.

Participants in the tea meeting were heads of Mission or Chargé d’Affaires from the embassies in Korea of 34 European states and the European Union, including Poland, Croatia, Austria, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Greece, Serbia, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Spain, Slovenia, Norway, Hungary, Türkiye, Denmark, France, Germany, Czechia, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, the Holy See, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, Ireland, Azerbaijan, Italy, Georgia, Portugal, and Finland.

Minister Cho stated that the Korean government has continuously developed its ties with European states for 140 years. He honored more than 120,000 Europeans who participated in the Korean War, stating that their sacrifice has allowed the Republic of Korea to enjoy freedom and prosperity today.

Furthermore, Minister Cho noted that the partnership between Korea and European states has been developing across various fields such as defense and security, trade and investment, science and technology, green transition, and economic security. He emphasized that their cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels is more crucial than ever to achieve global peace.

In particular, Minister Cho emphasized that the recent Russia-DPRK military alliance poses a threat to peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in Europe and around the world, and noted that participants of last week's NATO summit also strongly condemned the Russia-DPRK military cooperation. Minister Cho stressed the significance of continued cooperation between Korea and Europe, pointing out that the cooperation between Russia and North Korea shows that security of Europe and Asia is interlinked.

In addition, Minister Cho stated that the Ukraine war, ongoing for three years now, and the Israel-Hamas conflict are threatening rules-based international order. He emphasized that cooperation with European countries is more crucial than ever to resolve these issues, and urged that the Republic of Korea and Europe must also cooperate multilaterally to strengthen the rules-based international order.

In this regard, Minister Cho noted that Korea hosted the third Summit for Democracy and the AI Seoul Summit this year. He also announced the planned hosting of the Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Military Domain (REAIM) Summit in September, expecting that the meeting will play its role in laying the groundwork for the safe use of AI in armed conflict.

Minister Cho expressed his gratitude to the European diplomatic corps in Korea for their important role in fostering closer ties between Korea and Europe. He requested their continued support for future relations and expressed his hopes for further deepening collaboration between Korea and Europe.

Lastly, the Ambassador of Poland to Korea, Piotr Ostaszewski, delivered an address-in-reply on behalf of the European diplomatic corps in Korea and expressed gratitude for the invitation to the occasion. 

Ambassador Ostaszewski reiterated the crucial role of diplomacy for preserving peace at a time of global conflicts. He further expressed his hope for Korea and European countries to continue working together in peacekeeping efforts to achieve prosperity.