1. Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong held the Seventh Korea-Japan-China Economic and Trade 
Ministers’ Meeting in Seoul on May 23, with Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister
Naoshima Masayuki and Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming

2. This Meeting is meaningful in that it is the first meeting held in the three countries and has
significantly advanced cooperation in economy and trade. Starting from this year, instead of being 
held on the occasion of the ASEAN+3 meeting, the meeting will be held separately in the country
hosting the Trilateral Summit meeting on a regular basis.  

ㅇ The meeting was held shortly before the Trilateral Summit, which will be held on May 29-30. 
    Therefore, discussions were made on the outcome of the first Joint Study on the Korea-
    Japan-China FTA and views were exchanged on various issues, including the Trilateral 
    Investment Agreement, for the development of trilateral summit talks.

ㅇ The independently held Trade and Economic Ministers’ Meeting is expected to contribute to 
    the Trilateral Summit meeting and regional economy and trade relations by exploring the
    agenda for cooperation in the field of economy and trade and fine tuning the interests of the
    three sides.     

※ The Economic and Trade Ministers’ Meeting was first agreed upon at the Trilateral Summit
    Meeting in 2001 and was first held on the occasion of the ASEAN+3 Meeting in 2002, with 
    the three sides hosting the meeting on a rotational basis. 

 ※ As host of this year’s Summit Meeting, Korea suggested holding the Economic and Trade 
    Ministers’ Meeting independently in order to further strengthen trilateral cooperation in the 
    field of trade and economy, and the other two sides agreed to the suggestion.

3. At this year’s meeting, the outcome of the Joint Study for the Korea-Japan-China FTA was 
discussed prior to its submission to the Trilateral Summit Meeting. The three sides agreed to 
exert greater efforts for the conclusion of the Trilateral Investment Agreement that is currently 
under negotiations. The three trade ministers adopted a joint press release containing the 
mentioned agenda.    

4. The next Trade and Economic Ministers’ Meeting will be held in the host country for the 2011 
Trilateral Summit Meeting, which will be decided in the Third Trilateral Summit Meeting that will be 
held on May 29-30.                               
                      
                                     Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

*unofficial translation