President Moon Jae-in and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke on the phone for approximately 15 minutes from 5:30 this afternoon.

The two leaders had discussions on issues of mutual interest, including how to enhance bilateral economic cooperation.

Chancellor Merkel asked President Moon to visit Berlin first on his way to the G20 Summit in Hamburg scheduled for early July. Expressing his appreciation for the invitation, President Moon said he would instruct his staff to discuss the visit schedule through diplomatic channels.

President Moon went on to say that he was impressed by how Germany had played such a pivotal role in addressing key pending issues within the European Union under the prominent leadership of Chancellor Merkel, such as the financial and refugee crises as well as Brexit.

President Moon noted that Germany is Korea`s largest trading partner among European nations, and a leading nation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He emphasized that he looked forward to enhanced bilateral cooperation in creating new growth engines mainly in small and medium-sized enterprises, information and communications technology and the quaternary industry.
 

President Moon continued to say that he hoped that Chancellor Merkel would exert leadership in building consensus at the G20 in various sectors, including on the importance of free trade and the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Furthermore, the President expressed his hope that Germany could be of great help in addressing the North Korean nuclear issue as it had previously played a decisive and crucial role in tackling the Iranian nuclear issue.

Mentioning that Germany is a country that understands the tragedy and pain of division better than many others, President Moon said he looked forward to Germany’s strong support in the Korean Government’s efforts to garner international backing and form a consensus for a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula. 

Congratulating President Moon on his election, Chancellor Merkel said she is pleased that stable governance has become possible again in Korea after the recent difficult times.

Chancellor Merkel also stressed that she would closely cooperate with Korea in the years to come, and expressed great interest in President Moon’s direction of running state affairs, including his policy toward North Korea.