1. Kim Jung-han, Director-General for Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, accompanying Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on her visit to the Kingdom of Thailand for the 2019 ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, had a meeting with Kenji Kanasugi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the morning of August 2.

2. Director-General Kim strongly protested and expressed deep regret over the fact that by the approval of the Cabinet on August 2 for the amendment to the Export Trade Control Order, the Japanese government had removed the ROK from Japan’s list of countries given preferential treatment in the export of strategic items. The Director-General urged the Japanese government to immediately withdraw both this and the previous measures to impose export restrictions.