1.  Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan will attend the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn on 
December 5 as the head of the delegation of the Republic of Korea.

2. The Conference to be hosted by the German government and presided over by Afghan President 
Hamid Karzai will bring together delegates from 85 countries, including 65-odd Foreign Ministers, 
as well as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and others from 17 international organizations. In the 
Conference themed “From Transition to Transformation,” the participants will discuss major Afghan 
issues, including governance, development and other civilian aspects of the envisioned transfer of 
authority; long-term support for the post-2014 Afghanistan; and the political process in the country.

3. The Conference, held in Bonn in ten years since the 2001 Bonn Conference held after the Taliban’s 
defeat, carries significance in that it will review the progress in the reconstruction and stabilization efforts 
in Afghanistan and reaffirm the international community’s shared willingness to continue its engagement 
in the country even after 2014, by when the security responsibility will have been completely transferred 
from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the Afghan military and police.

4. In his remarks at the meeting, Minister Kim will commend the Afghan government for its efforts 
and achievements in political stabilization and economic development; point out remaining challenges, 
including the need for the police and military of the country to strengthen their capacities in order to 
improve the security situation, and the need to improve its system to stimulate private investment; 
highlight the importance of continued international cooperation; and express the willingness of the 
ROK government to maintain support for the military and police’s capacity-strengthening efforts and 
socio-economic development of the country.

5. Prior to the Conference, Minister Kim will visit Brussels, Belgium, to preside over a meeting of the 
heads of ROK diplomatic missions in the EU region on December 4, which will deal with ways to 
counter the European fiscal crisis and to maximize the benefits of the ROK-EU FTA. On December 5, 
he will meet with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton 
in Bonn for discussion on ways to bolster the bilateral strategic partnership forged in October 2010.

                      Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation