Unification minister meets Mongolian president, proposes trilateral South Korea-North Korea-Mongolia cooperation

Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young met with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh during a visit to Mongolia for the Northeast Asia Security Dialogue in Ulaanbaatar and proposed that the two sides "work together to explore trilateral cooperation among South Korea, North Korea and Mongolia," the Ministry of Unification said Friday.

Jeong delivered a special address at the 11th Ulaanbaatar Process for Northeast Asia Security Dialogue on Thursday before meeting with President Khurelsukh, Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg and members of the Mongolian parliament affiliated with the Korea-Mongolia Friendship Association. He also held a roundtable with former Mongolian ambassadors to North Korea, exchanging views broadly on Korean Peninsula issues.

President Khurelsukh thanked Jeong for raising the profile of the Ulaanbaatar dialogue through his special address, noting that the minister was the first foreign cabinet-level official to attend the forum, now in its 11th year.

The president said the Korea-Mongolia friendship and cooperation relationship "is entering a golden era" and expressed "firm support" for the South Korean government's Korean Peninsula peaceful coexistence policy. Foreign Minister Battsetseg said Mongolia's policies — including its nuclear-weapon-free zone status and "third neighbor" foreign policy — share significant common ground with Seoul's Korean Peninsula peaceful coexistence policy, and pledged to cooperate toward peace and coexistence on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

In response, Jeong said Mongolia, which has cultivated friendly and cooperative ties with both Koreas, is "the ideal partner for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia." He urged Mongolia to continue encouraging North Korea to participate in the Ulaanbaatar dialogue and proposed that the two sides "explore trilateral cooperation among South Korea, North Korea and Mongolia on the basis of brotherly ties."

The government said Jeong's visit to Mongolia helped raise international awareness of its Korean Peninsula peaceful coexistence policy, and that it would build on this to develop practical cooperation with Mongolia and the broader international community toward advancing peace on the peninsula.