1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting on safety measures for the foreign diplomatic missions in the Republic of Korea (ROK) on November 21. The meeting was attended by officials of diplomatic missions of such countries as the United States, Japan, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.

2. Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs Lim Ki-mo introduced the efforts the ROK government has made to date to protect the foreign missions in the country. He added that, amid changes in situations at home and abroad, the ROK government will guarantee the safety of the foreign missions in the country in continued efforts to help the foreign missions concentrate on their work.

° In particular, he stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close collaboration with the National Police Agency and other relevant government agencies, will do its utmost to protect the foreign missions, and asked that the missions, on their part, make efforts to protect themselves as well.

3. The National Police Agency gave a briefing on the public security situation in the ROK and explained that it plans to bolster the protection of the foreign missions by identifying harmful factors to the missions and tightening security as necessary.

4. The participants from foreign missions extended appreciation to the ROK government for its efforts to protect their missions, adding that the meeting served as a good opportunity to listen in detail on the ROK government’s plans for protecting the foreign missions.

5. With regard to the protection of the foreign missions in the ROK, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will step up cooperation and communication with such relevant government agencies as the National Police Agency as well as the diplomatic corps in the ROK.