1. On the sidelines of Seoul Conference on Cyberspace 2013 to take place at COEX on October 17 and 18, the Republic of Korea will hold an informal consultation with the delegations from the US, China, Russia and Japan on October 17, presided by Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul.

* The heads of the delegations from the four aforementioned countries to the meeting are: Christopher Painter, Coordinator for Cyber Issues of the US Department of State; Huang Huikang, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Chinese Foreign Ministry; Ivan Belyayev, Referent of Russia’s Security Council Office; and Jun Shimmi, Deputy Director-General (Ambassador) for Foreign Policy of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

2. In the consultation, Vice Minister Cho and the other four head delegates will exchange views on the possibility of cooperation in various ways on cyber issues -- a softer issue to be addressed as part of efforts to carry out the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative.

3. The ROK government, by building upon the outcome of the meeting, will continue to explore specific ways to work with the other four powerhouses in information and communications technology on cyber issues and will seek to play an active role in discussions on global cyber issues.

4. With regard to the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative, on the sidelines of the International Conference on Nuclear Security in Vienna, Austria, in July 2013, the government delegations from the five countries held an informal meeting on nuclear security, chaired by Vice Minister Cho. In addition, on October 15, the ROK Foreign Ministry, together with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), hosted a forum on Northeast Asian energy cooperation to discuss specific ways for cooperation on energy security.

                   Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation