1. Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon held a meeting with Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kenji Kanasugi of the Japanese Foreign Ministry on October 19. The meeting marked the first opportunity for the two ranking diplomats to exchange greetings as well as the first formal Republic of Korea-Japan meeting of the head delegates to the Six-Party Talks since the inauguration of the Special Representative.

2. At the meeting, the two head delegates, following up on the ROK-US-Japan meetings held among their vice foreign ministers and among the head delegates to the Six-Party Talks the day before, October 18, exchanged in-depth views on ways to continuously deter North Korean provocations, including such diplomatic efforts as enforcing tough sanctions and putting strong pressure on the North, and ways to keep the situation on the Korean Peninsula stable.

3. In addition, the two top delegates made an assessment of the effect of international collaboration to sanction North Korea and agreed to double efforts to lead the North toward denuclearization, including thoroughly implementing Resolution 2375 and all the other relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and inducing China and Russia to play a constructive role in that regard.

4. The two head delegates, in order to achieve the shared goal of a peaceful and complete denuclearization of North Korea, agreed to consult more frequently and closely with each other on the sidelines of various diplomatic, international and various other events to come.


* unofficial translation