NEWS RELEASES

July 26, 2000 (2:55 p.m. EDT) No. 184

CANADA ANNOUNCES RECOGNITION OF DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOLLOWING BILATERAL TALKS IN BANGKOK

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced, following a very productive meeting with Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), that Canada formally recognizes the DPRK as a state and member of the international community. In addition, the Ministers agreed to begin technical discussions leading to the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries as soon as feasible. Mr. Axworthy made the announcement in Bangkok, Thailand, where he and his counterpart from the DPRK are attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.

The Ministers consulted on a broad range of topics, including peace and security, trade and investment, economic development and cultural and academic relations.

"For some time now, the DPRK has been reaching out to the international community and attempting to increase the number of countries with which it has foreign relations," said Mr. Axworthy. "Canada welcomes this initiative, and intends to assist the DPRK to integrate itself into international affairs."

The Minister welcomed the participation of the DPRK in its first ASEAN Regional Forum meeting and underlined the importance of the forum to regional security. He also noted that Prime Minister Chrétien and his G-8 counterparts had issued a statement on the Korean Peninsula on July 21, in Okinawa Japan, which welcomed the recent Inter-Korean Summit between DPRK leader Kim Jong Il and Republic of Korea President Kim Dae Jung; encouraged both leaders to reduce tensions and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula; supported the Republic of Korea's engagement policy and welcomed the constructive attitude shown by the DPRK.

Finally, Mr. Axworthy pointed out that this was the first ministerial-level meeting between the Canadian and DPRK governments.

The historic meeting is one of the last steps in a process of formalizing bilateral relations initiated by the Government of Canada in 1998 when Mr. Axworthy endorsed a more active engagement approach toward the DPRK. Since that time, contacts between both countries' embassies in Beijing have steadily increased, and five bilateral missions have taken place over the last 10 months. These included two Canadian missions to the DPRK to lay the groundwork for today's ministerial meeting and the hosting of three official and unofficial delegations from the DPRK. These encounters were aimed at building mutual understanding and conveying key policy views, with a particular emphasis on regional security.

"This is a much anticipated moment for both countries," said Mr. Axworthy. "I look forward to establishing official channels of diplomatic communication in order to broaden and deepen understanding and relations between our two countries."

Prior to today's announcement, Canada did not recognize the DPRK, nor did the two countries have diplomatic relations. Despite this fact, Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been active in the country since the mid-1990s when the international community became aware of extreme food shortages. Since 1997, the Canadian International Development Agency has also made humanitarian food aid donations to the DPRK, which it has channelled through the United Nation's World Food Program and Canadian NGOs. These assistance programs have resulted in over $30 million in assistance to date.

In addition, academics from several Canadian universities have pursued contacts with their DPRK counterparts since 1990. These informal institutional links facilitated the rapprochement between both countries.

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Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

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