1. An interagency delegation of the Republic of Korea (Head: Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon), together with a government delegation of the United States (Head: Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources of the Department of State Francis Fannon), held the 3rd Republic of Korea-United States consultation on the snap-back of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran in New York on September 25.

° The ROK delegation was composed of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The US side included Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Mark Knapper and senior official of the Bureau of Energy Resources Travis Hunnicutt of the Department of State.

2. In the 3rd ROK-US consultation, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon brought attention to the fact that the US’ energy and financial sanctions against Iran, slated to snap back into place on November 5, will have a very big impact on Korean economy; once again underscored the need to continue importing Iranian condensate, indispensable to the ROK’s petrochemical sector, as well as the need to keep in place the ROK-Iran payment system; and asked the US government to grant a sanctions waiver to the ROK as soon as possible.

° Assistant Secretary Fannon reiterated the US government’s principled position that even if it granted sanctions waivers, it would do so to a highly limited number of countries, as its goal was to bring Iranian oil imports to zero. He added that the US government, however, will consider undertaking a technical review of the unique situation the ROK was in.

※ In addition to the 3rd consultation with the US, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon will hold a meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions David Peyman in New York on September 27.

- The delegates from the Ministry of Economy and Finance will hold a meeting in Washington DC on September 27 with officials handling financial sanctions affairs at the US Department of the Treasury.

3. Going forward, the ROK government will continue efforts to minimize the impact of the snap-back of US sanctions against Iran on Korean economy and on Korean companies with business ties with Iran. To that end, it will hold consultations among relevant government agencies and with Korean enterprises, and set a position based on their results, as well as meetings with the US government to win a sanctions waiver by November 4, when the grace period for the sanctions will expire.

* unofficial translation