By Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Kingdom of the Netherlands held talks on December 12-13, 2023, on the occasion of President Yoon's state visit to the Netherlands. Recalling the Joint Statement on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership adopted on the occasion of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's visit in November 2022, the two leaders agreed as follows.

On the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice, the two leaders recognized the sacrifices made by Dutch soldiers in the Korean War, which broke out before the two countries established diplomatic relations. The leaders expressed great satisfaction that the Republic of Korea and the Netherlands have developed extensive bilateral cooperation in all areas, including economy, trade, and culture, over the past 62 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1961.

As geopolitical partners, the two leaders expressed their determination to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including economic security and maritime security, and promote partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions to contribute to global peace, prosperity, and security.

The two leaders agreed that the state visit will serve as a springboard to take the development of bilateral relations based on strategic partnership to the next level. Specific measures, initiatives and agreements in the political, defense, security, social, economic, cultural, regional and multilateral spheres will contribute to the continued implementation of the Joint Statement on Establishing Strategic Partnership.

 
To implement the Strategic Partnership, the two leaders agreed to continue, strengthen and expand existing bilateral dialogues and exchanges at the high-level and working/expert level.

They welcomed the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in defense and security, in particular the signing of an MOU on defense cooperation. The two leaders expressed their expectations for the launch of the ROK-Dutch Joint Commission on Defense, which was announced in the MOU signed in June 2023 between the ROK Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Netherlands Defense Materiel and Communications Command. The Netherlands welcomes South Korea's participation as an observer in the Joint Project Optic Windmill (JPOW) exercise in 2025.

The two leaders emphasized the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and decided to strengthen cooperation on their respective Indo-Pacific strategies.

The two leaders strongly condemned the unprecedented level of provocations by the DPRK, which gravely threatens international peace and security. The Netherlands reaffirmed its support for the goal of the ROK government's bold initiative for a nuclear-free, peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula. The Netherlands supports a free, peaceful and unified Korean Peninsula. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation to promote human rights in North Korea.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue their successful cooperation in developing international norms on the responsible military use of artificial intelligence through co-hosting the 2024 High-Level Meeting on the Military Use of Artificial Intelligence.

The leaders agreed to continue the bilateral Cyber Policy Consultations in the Netherlands in the first half of 2024.