1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed on October 22, 2019 the domestic ratification procedure and the deposit of the instrument of ratification of the “Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean,” which had been concluded among five coastal states (the United States, the Russian Federation, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Norway) and five non-coastal states of the Central Arctic Ocean (the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Iceland and the European Union) in Ilulissat, Greenland, on October 3, 2018.

° The Agreement was concluded to introduce “interim” measures to prevent unregulated fishing in order to conserve and sustainably use marine biological resources in the high seas portion of the Central Arctic Ocean surrounded by the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the five coastal states of the Central Arctic Ocean.

° The Agreement stipulates the purpose and applicable regions; interim conservation and management measures concerning fishing; establishing a joint program of scientific research and monitoring; holding meetings for review and further implementation of the Agreement; and regulations on such matters as decision-making and dispute settlement procedures.

2. The “Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean” will enter into force 30 days after all of the ten signatories complete their domestic ratification procedures and the deposit of their instruments of ratification. It will expire 16 years after its entry into force (extendable by five years at a time).

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° As of October 30, 2019, the ROK is the sixth country to have completed the aforementioned procedures after Canada, the EU, the U.S., Japan, and Russia.

3. Under the Agreement, the ROK government plans to take an active part in research on the marine environment and the fisheries resources ecosystem in the high seas portion of the Central Arctic Ocean and contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources in the Arctic.

° The signatories to the “Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean” will continue discussions on ways to conserve the ecosystem in the high seas portion of the Central Arctic Ocean, including at the workshop designed to share knowledge and experiences of Arctic indigenous people (in Yellowknife, Canada, on November 13-14, 2019) as well as the meeting of the “Provisional Science Coordinating Group” for discussions on joint research by science experts (in Ispra, the Italian Republic, on February 11-13, 2020). In mid 2020, a Preparatory Conference will be held among the signatories.