PM meeting with President Moon of the Republic of Korea: 20 September 2021

The Prime Minister met President Moon of the Republic of Korea today at the UN General Assembly.

The leaders agreed on the strong relationship between the UK and the Republic of Korea, particularly in trade and defence as exemplified by the recent visit of the UK's Carrier Strike Group to South Korea.

The leaders welcomed the progress in the global fight against coronavirus since they last met in June and on setting up a vaccine swap between the UK and South Korea to enable them to have earlier access to crucial vaccines.

They agreed on the importance of countries taking concrete action to tackle climate change ahead of the COP26 Summit. The Prime Minister welcomed South Korea's commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. He expressed his hope that President Moon would take further action to end the use of coal and deforestation.

The Prime Minister and President Moon expressed their concern about recent provocative action by North Korea. The Prime Minister restated his commitment to peace on the Korean Peninsula and to securing an end to North Korea's illegal activities.