1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will attend ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Singapore on August 3 and 4.

° Minister Kang will attend five ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings -- the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN+3/ ASEAN+the Republic of Korea, China and Japan), and the East Asia Summit (EAS); as well as those between the ROK and ASEAN, and between the ROK and Mekong countries.

※ Schedule of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings
- August 3  10:15-11:15 ASEAN-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

- August 4  09:00-10:30 ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

10:45-13:00 EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

14:00-17:00 ARF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

2. President Moon Jae-in’s state visits to Vietnam from March 22 till 24, Singapore from July 11 till 13 and India from July 8 till 11 led ASEAN to take a keener interest in and better understand the ROK’s New Southern Policy. At the forthcoming ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, the ROK government will seek reaffirmed as well as stronger support from ASEAN for its New Southern Policy.

※ In 2017, ASEAN was the ROK’s No.2 trade partner ($149.1 bln) and top travel destination (7.4 mln Korean travelers to ASEAN countries / 2.14 mln vice versa). The launch of the ASEAN community in 2015 is expected to help the bloc fulfill its potential as a large-scale economic bloc with a population of 630 mln and $2.5 tln in economic size.

3. Minister Kang will share with the other delegates the ROK government’s efforts to achieve a complete denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula, asking for support and cooperation of ASEAN and the rest of the international community on the ROK government’s policy toward the Korean Peninsula.

° In particular, at the ARF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which will be joined by delegates from North and South American countries, China, Japan, Russia, and the EU, as well as at the bilateral meetings with her counterparts of major countries, Minister Kang will make various diplomatic efforts to achieve progress toward the denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

4. At the ASEAN-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the ROK and the ten ASEAN member states, the former country’s pivotal partners in implementing its New Southern Policy, will review the progress in cooperation on 3Ps -- “people, prosperity and peace”; and discuss ways and strategies for implementing the Policy.

° The two sides will also discuss the possibility of holding a bilateral commemorative summit in 2019 to mark the 30^th anniversary of the ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations, and will seek substantive agreement in that regard. 

5. The Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will cover ways that the ROK and five countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion, the former country’s main partners in implementing its New Southern Policy, can seek substantive cooperation mainly to fulfill the Mekong region’s growth potential and thereby achieve a sustainable development and growth in the region, and to narrow the development gap and enhance the connectivity among Mekong countries.

* Countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand -- have lately been seeing a rapid annual growth of 5-7%; are hosts of numerous Korea companies and residents; and are promising markets that are expected to see more robust economic development down the road.

° In particular, the two sides will review the progress in the implementation of the second ROK-Mekong Action Plan (2017-2020); the establishment and the operation of the ROK-Mekong Cooperation Fund; the ROK’s bilateral official development assistance (ODA) for Mekong countries; and the progress in the follow-up on ROK-Mekong business forums. The two sides will also discuss ways to work more closely together.

6. At the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the ASEAN+3, which has become the most institutionalized cooperative mechanism in the region after being set up in 1997 to respond jointly to the Asian financial crisis, the ROK, together with the ten ASEAN member countries, Japan and China, will discuss ways to work together in each sector in a bid to build an East Asian community. Amid the currently growing tide of trade protectionism in major countries and signs of a looming trade conflict, Minister Kang plans to underscore the need to shed renewed light on the value of the ASEAN+3 mechanism, whose member states have worked together to strengthen the financial safety net in the region and other substantive areas.

° Minister Kang will exchange views with her counterparts from the other ASEAN+3 member states on the progress in the implementation of the mid- to long-term recommendations put forth by the ROK-led East Asia Vision Group II as well as the ASEAN+3’s way forward; and will discuss with them ways to bolster cooperation among the three countries and ASEAN in a virtuous circle.

7. At the ARF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the top diplomats of 27 countries, including the ASEAN member states, the US, Japan, China, Russia, North Korea, Canada, Australia and the EU, will exchange views on such regional and global issues as the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea, and cyber security; and will discuss ways to build trust and move preventive diplomacy forward in the region.

° Minister Kang will speak of the ROK government’s commitment and efforts at the ARF toward peace and stability in the region, including its service as a co-chair of the Inter-Sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief from 2016 till 2018 and the Inter-Sessional Meeting on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament from 2017 till 2020.

8. The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the EAS, the premier strategic forum participated by all the major countries in the region, including the US, China, Japan, Russia and India, will cover ways to overcome terrorism and other cross-border threats jointly faced by countries in the region, as well as the way forward for the EAS.

° Minister Kang will highlight the importance of cooperation in the region on Korean Peninsula issues, terrorism and maritime security for the region’s sustainable peace and prosperity; and particularly inform the other participants of the ROK government’s plan to host “a Regional Youth Conference on Peace and Tolerance: Building Narratives to Counter Violent Extremism” together with the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) in October 2018 as part for its efforts against terrorism.

* “The Regional Youth Conference on Peace and Tolerance: Building Narratives to Counter Violent Extremism” will cover peace in the region and related challenges from the perspective of younger generations; cooperation in responding to violent extremism and relevant model cases; and ways to work with youth groups in the region.

9. On the sidelines of the ASEAN-related meetings, Minister Kang will meet bilaterally with her counterparts of major countries.

* unofficial translation