By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo held a virtual vice-ministerial meeting on September 19, with Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Funakoshi Takehiro, Australian Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade Jan Adams, and New Zealand Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Gilbert Corry.

At the meeting, the participants shared assessments of the Indo-Pacific situation and exchanged views on cooperation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its four Indo-Pacific partners (IP4: Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand).

They also expressed anticipation for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held in Gyeongju next month.

At this first IP4 vice-ministerial meeting since the inauguration of Korea’s new administration, the participants agreed to continue close communication among the Indo-Pacific partners going forward.