1. In its keynote speech delivered on August 27, 2019, at the 5th Conference of States Parties (CSP5) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) underway in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, the government delegation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) commended the international community’s continued efforts to implement the ATT for more responsible trade in conventional weapons and underscored the need to establish a solid National Export Control System for the faithful implementation of the Treaty.

° The ROK government delegation was composed of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea in Geneva, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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2. In particular, the ROK delegation took the occasion to point out the inappropriateness of Japan’s export-restrictive measures and to call for their immediate withdrawal.

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° The delegation expressed regret that Japan had taken export-restrictive measures in a unilateral and arbitrary manner for political purposes even when the ROK government has been faithfully implementing export control norms of the international community and rigorously controlling illegal transfers of conventional weapons to third countries through its advanced National Export Control System including the Catch-All Control for conventional arms and WMDs.

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° The delegation voiced concerns that it is a bad precedent misusing the rationale of the export control for imposing trade-restrictive measures and that such trade-restrictive measures run counter to the very essence of international export control regimes.

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° The delegation called for an immediate withdrawal of such trade-restrictive measures and underlined the need to resolve the issue through consultations between the two countries.

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3. On August 26, the ROK delegation hosted a side event under the theme of “Preventing Diversion of Conventional Arms” and took the opportunity to promote to the international community outstanding features of the ROK’s export control system.

° The delegate from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who  participated in the event as a panelist, explained that the ROK, equipped with a highly advanced, systematic export control system, is exercising rigorous export controls for conventional arms and others; and that the international community, on its part, highly appreciates such export control efforts by the ROK.

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° The delegate from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration spoke of the need to manage the entire process from production to dismantlement of weapons systems as a way to prevent diversion of weapons; and introduced the ROK’s outstanding weapons management system.

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° Also among the panelists and speakers at the event were delegates of prestigious institutes as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Conflict Armament Research (CAR), the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) of the United Kingdom, and Saferworld.

4. On the occasion of the CSP5 to the ATT (August 26-30), the ROK delegation will hold bilateral meetings with delegations of international organizations and major participating countries, during which it will point out the problems with the Japanese government’s export-restrictive measures and explain the ROK government’s position on the issue.

5. As one of the original signatories to the ATT, the ROK has attended its CSPs over the past six years since it joined the Treaty in 2013. At this fifth Conference, it reaffirmed its commitment to take an active part in the international community’s efforts to promote the universalization of the ATT and to ensure its effective implementation.

° In particular, the ROK, as Vice-President representing Asia in 2019, is actively contributing to the advancement of the ATT by conducting outreach activities for the universalization of the ATT in Asia and making financial contributions to the Voluntary Trust Fund.