1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith of Laos on July 27 to extend consolation over the recent dam accident in Laos and to discuss ways to work together toward an early recovery from the accident.

2. Minister Kang expressed deep sympathy over the dam accident that had occurred in the Lao province of Attapeu in the previous week, leaving a number of people displaced and causing flood damage. She went on to mention that the Republic of Korea government, having sent a four-member advance team to Laos on July 26, would dispatch a Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) in the near future and do its utmost to render assistance to Laotians who had suffered damage from the dam accident.

° Minister Saleumxay extended appreciation to the ROK over the ROK President’s personal instructions to offer emergency relief aid to Laos and the ROK government’s plan to provide humanitarian assistance to Laotians who were suffering from the dam accident.

3. The two Ministers agreed to hold a bilateral meeting for further close discussions on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related meetings to come the next week.

* unofficial translation