Foreign Minister Park Jin held talks with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum last week.

According to the foreign ministry on Sunday, Park met with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in San Francisco on Wednesday and asked for Canada’s continued support in efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea.

Joly agreed on the importance of resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula and promoting human rights in North Korea, and the two sides agreed to continue close consultations to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

In the meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena Ibarra, Park proposed that the two nations cooperate to create a foundation for expanding bilateral trade and investment.

To that end, Park asked for the Mexican government’s support to resume negotiations for the bilateral free trade agreement and to launch negotiations to allow South Korea to become an associate member state of the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Minister Park also asked Mexico to continue to join in the international community’s united response to North Korean provocations, and Minister Barcena promised to continue to cooperate closely with South Korea for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.