1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a consultation among the Directors-General of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the People’s Republic of China, and Japan over the phone on the morning of March 17 to discuss responses to the COVID-19 outbreak.

2. In the consultation where Director-General for Asian and Pacific Affairs Kim Jung-han, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Wu Jianghao of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Shigeki Takizaki of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated, the diplomatic authorities of the three countries shared information on their countries’ domestic situations regarding COVID-19, and exchanged views on the way forward for cooperation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between the three countries and across the world.

3. The three countries shared the view that it is important for them to work together through various channels among the three countries to eradicate the infectious disease and prevent transmission between them, while making utmost efforts to combat COVID-19, respectively.

o They also exchanged views on the need to work to ensure that such efforts do not hamper trilateral and bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

4. The diplomatic authorities of the three countries agreed to continue to communicate closely with each other to respond to COVID-19 and discuss ways to hold a trilateral Foreign Ministers’ meeting at an earlier time.