1. The chairman’s statements on the outcomes of the 22^nd ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit and the 14^th East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand, on November 4, 2019, were announced on Tuesday, November 5.

○ The chairman’s statements reflected the participating countries’ strong commitment to strengthening regional cooperation by including ways for future sectoral cooperation as well as specific implementation plans. Furthermore, the statements also included major regional and global issues of interest such as the Korean Peninsula, importance of free trade order and sustainable development.

2. The two statements included a positive assessment on the Korean Peninsula peace process that the ROK government has been focusing on, and strong commitment of the leaders of the participating countries to upholding an open, inclusive, rules-based, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system. The ROK government’s position is also seen to have been faithfully reflected in the statements.

3. Regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the statements included all the key elements at which the ROK government initially aimed such as emphasis on the ROK government’s active role in promoting dialogue, including continued working-level negotiations between the United States (U.S) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and a request for the participating countries’ constructive role in advancing the Korean Peninsula peace process.

○ The chairman’s statements of the APT Summit and the EAS welcomed the resumption of working-level negotiations between the U.S. and the DPRK, noted the ROK’s role for sustainable dialogue with the DPRK, and highlighted the participating countries’ support for efforts to implement the Singapore Joint Statement by the U.S. and DPRK Leaders of June 12, the Panmunjom Declaration of April 27 and the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 19.

4. The statements reaffirmed the participating countries’ support for an inclusive, rules-based multilateral trading system, as did those of the 2018 Summits, and the 2019 Foreign Ministers’ Meetings of the APT and the EAS. The word “non-discriminatory” was added to this year’s Summit statements.

○ As for chairman’s statement of the APT, concerns over escalating trade tensions were reiterated in the chairman’s statement as they had been in the chairman’s statement of the 2019 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. It is seen to have expressed concerns about the negative effects that can be triggered by trade conflict amid the recently growing protectionism.

5. On the occasion of these two Summits, 15 participating countries of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have concluded text-based negotiations and all RCEP participating countries have decided to work together to commence for signing in 2020. The conclusion of the text-based negotiations is expected to create new opportunities through increased trade and investment and diversified export markets, and lays a significant institutional foundation for accelerating the implementation of the ROK’s New Southern Policy.

6. The two Summits are seen to have served as good opportunities to draw keen attention from the participating countries to the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the 1^st Mekong-ROK Summit scheduled to take place in Busan on November 25-27.