By Diplomacy Journal Lee Gil-ju

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jina met with President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Tomas Heidar, who was visiting Korea to attend the 10th International Conference on the Law of the Sea (ICLS) on Nov. 18.

During the meeting, they exchanged views on key issues related to the law of the sea and explored ways to strengthen cooperation between the Korean government and ITLOS.

The meeting was joined by Judge Kriangsak Kittichaisaree of Thailand, Judge Frida Armas Pfirter of Argentina, Judge Rhee Zha Hyoung of the Republic of Korea, and Registrar Ximena Hinrichs of Chile.

Vice Minister Kim commended ITLOS for its contributions to the development of the law of the sea and the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes. She noted that Korea has been placing strong emphasis on enhancing its capacity and fostering expertise in this field through various initiatives, and expressed her expectation for further expanded personnel and academic exchanges with ITLOS in the future.

President Heidar remarked that since its first session in 2016, the ICLS has addressed key developments in the field of the law of the sea. He added that he is pleased to see the ICLS growing into a leading global academic forum.

Both sides expressed hope that this year’s conference would serve as an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the past decade and to discuss international legal solutions to future challenges concerning the oceans. They agreed to continue strengthening cooperation between Korea and ITLOS going forward.