1. A foreign and defense ministers’ (2+2) meeting between the Republic of Korea and the United States will take place in Washington DC on October 19. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Defense Minister Han Min-koo and their respective US counterparts -- Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter -- will attend the meeting.

2. In their meeting, the Ministers and the Secretaries of the two countries will extensively discuss the ROK-US alliance, North Korean and regional issues, and global partnership, and adopt a joint statement as an outcome document of the meeting.

3. The forthcoming 2+2 meeting is expected to serve as a significant opportunity to reaffirm the steadfastness of the alliance and strong coordination between the ROK and the US amid the grave situation on the Korean Peninsula, and to put forth ways for the two countries to work together by building on the achievements made by their current governments in the fields of diplomacy and security.

° In particular, under the grave circumstance where North Korea is issuing qualitatively escalated nuclear and missile threats, including through its fifth nuclear test, the meeting is expected to cover a wide range of matters concerning North Korea, including sanctioning and putting other forms of tough diplomatic pressure on the North as well as extended and military deterrence against it.

° Furthermore, in their 2+2 meeting, the ROK and the US, as comprehensive, strategic allies, will extensively discuss main regional and global issues.

4. On October 20, the day after the 2+2 meeting, the ROK and the US will hold their 48th Security Consultation Meeting (SCM).


* unofficial translation