Britain’s top diplomat thanks Yoon for attending queen’s funeral

SEOUL– British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday and thanked him for attending Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral last week, the presidential office said.

Cleverly, who was in Seoul for talks with Foreign Minister Park Jin, met with Yoon at his office and the two discussed ways to develop relations between South Korea and Britain, as well as Korean Peninsula issues and the war in Ukraine, according to deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung.

Cleverly “once again expressed special thanks on behalf of the British government for President Yoon’s personal attendance at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral and for his expression of condolences to the British royal family, government and people,” Lee said in a statement.

“He said the British people were deeply moved by the warmth and comfort of the South Korean people,” he added.

During their meeting, Yoon and Cleverly assessed that the two countries’ relations have developed steadily based on their shared values of a liberal democracy and market economy.

They also looked forward to their foreign ministries cooperating closely together to jointly tackle challenges such as climate change, energy security and supply chain disruptions based on the South Korea-Britain framework Yoon adopted with then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June.

Meanwhile, Yoon asked for Britain’s active role as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in drawing a firm and united response from the international community in the event that North Korea carries out what would be its seventh nuclear test or other provocations.

Cleverly reaffirmed Britain’s support for South Korea’s policy on North Korea, according to Lee.

Yoon further requested Britain’s support for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan.

In response, Cleverly said he understood well the South Korean people’s strong desire to host the expo through his visit and promised to deliver the request to British Prime Minister Liz Truss, Lee said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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