1. First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, in his capacity as the acting Foreign Minister of the chair country of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), delivered a special address at the 30th Plenary Meeting of the MTCR in Busan, south of Seoul, on October 19.

° The Plenary Meeting is under way from October 17 to 21, bringing together some 300 people, including those in charge of export control for non-proliferation purposes and relevant experts from the MTCR’s 35 member states.

° The Republic of Korea will serve as the chair of the MTCR for one year starting from the Busan Plenary Meeting.

2. In his special address, Vice Minister Lim mentioned that North Korea, by conducting two nuclear tests in 2016 alone and launching various types of ballistic missiles, is posing the biggest threat to the international non-proliferation regime. He also stressed that in a bid to resolve North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues, the international community should continue enforcing tough sanctions and putting strong pressure on the North and thereby make it change its calculus.

3. Vice Minister Lim asked the MTCR, the major multilateral mechanism for export control of missile-related items, to do the following in order to stop North Korea from advancing its missile capability:

° Increase efforts to close the loopholes in the field of export control, including North Korea’s attempts at procurement of below-threshold items.

° Take a holistic approach, including sharing relevant information and promoting exchanges with other export control mechanisms and international consultative bodies, in dealing with North Korea’s various tactics for evading sanctions.

° Continue sending a clear and strong message to North Korea.

4. Vice Minister Lim noted that the ROK’s concurrent service as the chair of both the MTCR and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which is unprecedented in the history of export control regimes, reflects the international community’s trust in the ROK’s non-proliferation commitment, adding that the ROK will seek to fulfill the trust by actively leading the global non-proliferation efforts.


* unofficial translation