Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

□ In the afternoon of July 9th, Vice Minister Park Jae-min held a conference call with New Zealand Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman, in which the two officials discussed current bilateral defense matters, security environments, as well as exchange and cooperation activities.

□ Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, Vice Minister Park expressed his gratitude for the sacrifice of the NZ veterans who had fought for the democracy and freedom of the Republic of Korea, and the two officials noted that the two nations had been steadily enhancing cooperative relations in a variety of areas including political, economic, and defense fields based upon a longstanding tradition of friendship and goodwill.

□ Vice Minister Park stressed the importance of forever eliminating war from the Korean Peninsula, and requested the continued support of New Zealand as the ROK government works to achieve the twin goals of denuclearization and permanent peace. To this, Secretary Bridgman responded by pledging unwavering encouragement and support for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

□ Secretary Bridgman also expressed his gratitude for the HMNZS Aotearoa* - New Zealand's largest Logistics Support Vessel and recently manufactured by a Korean company - which was successfully delivered to the NZ Navy in June.
  * NZ's largest Logistics Support Vessel(26,000t/$240mil), which was manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries and arrived in New Zealand on June 26th.
  ◦ Noting that the same Korean company had manufactured both the HMNZS Aotearoa and its predecessor, the HMNZS Endeavour, which had been decommissioned after 30 years with the NZ Navy, Vice Minister Park expressed his hope that bilateral defense industry cooperation between the two nations would continue to expand.

□ Even with the challenges accompanying COVID19, the two officials shared the view that developing bilateral defense and defense industry cooperation was imperative, and with an eye to achieving this end, agreed to continue close communication and coordination.