The German-Korean advisory board on foreign policy issues relating to reunification presented its final report at the Federal Foreign Office today (28 April) following its fifth working session.

On Friday morning, State Secretary Markus Ederer received the report with recommendations for the two governments on behalf of the Federal Government. One of the key recommendations of the report is to continue the joint dialogue regarding current security issues on the Korean Peninsula.

State Secretary Ederer said that he was confident that the Federal Foreign Office would soon commence talks with the Government of the Republic of Korea, which is to be elected on 9 May, on devising a new forward-looking consultation mechanism on current security policy issues in the East Asia region. Ederer said that a board such as this was urgently needed against the backdrop of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and could help to continue to reinforce the strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea.

The report is the product of extensive consultations between German and Korean foreign policy experts in recent years. Both sides have held very frank discussions on strategies for the Korean Peninsula during this period. Germany has the capacity to make an important contribution to this discourse with its history of division and reunification. The advisory board was established by the Foreign Ministeries of Germany and South Korea in 2014.