▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron give a joint press statement ahead of their summit at Elysee Palace in Paris on June 20, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L) and his wife, Kim Keon Hee (L), applaud a choir during a dinner for South Koreans residing in France at a hotel in Paris on June 19, 2023. Yoon arrived in Paris earlier in the day for a three-day trip to promote South Korea's bid for the 2030 World Expo. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and his wife, Kim Keon Hee (C), receive flowers from children during a dinner for South Koreans residing in France at a hotel in Paris on June 19, 2023. Yoon arrived in Paris earlier in the day for a three-day trip to promote South Korea's bid for the 2030 World Expo. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Yoon-French president

(LEAD) Yoon says S. Korea, France will cooperate closely against N. Korea's provocations

(ATTN: UPDATES with Yoon's remarks before summit; CHANGES headline, dateline; ADDS photos)

By Lee Haye-ah

PARIS, June 20 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that South Korea and France will cooperate closely to deal with North Korea's unlawful provocations as fellow members of the U.N. Security Council.

Yoon made the remark before going into a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace, the presidential office and residence.

Yoon arrived in Paris the previous day to attend a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern city of Busan.

"North Korea's nuclear threats are a grave challenge beyond the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, to peace in the entire world," he said in a joint statement to the press with Macron standing next to him.

"The Republic of Korea, as a next nonpermanent member of the Security Council, will deal with North Korea's unlawful provocations that are in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, in close cooperation with France, a permanent member," he said, referring to South Korea by its formal name.

South Korea was recently elected to serve a two-year term from 2024 as a nonpermanent member of the council.

During the summit, Yoon said he and Macron plan to discuss ways to promote practical economic cooperation and build stable supply chains while also exploring cooperation in future strategic industries, such as space and aviation.

Yoon reaffirmed South Korea's commitment to working closely together with the international community, including France, to rebuild and restore peace in Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia.

He also said South Korea will contribute to building a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region as a "global responsible state" and work closely with France in the process.

Yoon noted he plans to attend the BIE general assembly on the outskirts of Paris following the summit, and expressed hope that Macron and the French people will take an interest in South Korea's bid to bring the World Expo to Busan.

Yoon's office said the summit would also cover the issue of North Korea's human rights.

"Under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, we have not avoided the issue of North Korea's human rights but handled it head on, so this will likely be an important item on the agenda," presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon told reporters in Paris the previous day, saying France, as a nation that has always stressed human rights, has yet to establish diplomatic ties with North Korea.

Lee particularly noted Yoon's predecessor, former President Moon Jae-in, used his visits to Europe to ask countries to lift sanctions on North Korea, but that Macron responded clearly that "Now is not the time to lift sanctions but for the international community to work together to implement sanctions."

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]