1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, will host the 16th Republic of Korea-UN Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues in Jeju on November 16 and 17.

※ The ROK-UN Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues has taken place on an annual basis since 2002 for discussions on main, related issues of the year.

° The Conference will bring together Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Oh Young-ju of the Foreign Ministry, Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu of the UN and other disarmament and non-proliferation experts from home and abroad; foreign diplomats to the ROK; and officials of relevant government agencies of the ROK.

2. At the Conference, the participants will exchange a wide range of views on major current issues in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, including the North Korean nuclear issue; such global non-proliferation issues as the 2020 NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) review process and discussions on nuclear disarmament; technology for WMD disarmament verification; and implications of artificial intelligence (AI), three-dimensional printing and other new technologies for security.

° On the sidelines of the multilateral Conference, the first such bilateral meeting between the ROK and India will take place, with Director-General for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Affairs Ham Sang-wook of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Joint Secretary for Disarmament and International Affairs Pankaj Sharma of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs leading their respective delegations.

3. The ROK government, by hosting the Asia-Pacific region’s signature meeting on disarmament and non-proliferation issues that marks the 16th of its kind in 2017, will seek to play a constructive role in relevant international discussions and to enhance its standing as a leading country in the field of non-proliferation.


* unofficial translation