1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun participated in a multilateral teleconference on COVID-19 response among the vice foreign ministers of seven countries in the region on the morning of November 6.

o The teleconference among the vice foreign ministers of seven countries -- the Republic of Korea, the United States of America, Japan, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of India, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam -- has taken place twelve times since the first one held on March 20, and today’s conference was the 13th one.

2. In the teleconference, the vice foreign ministers exchanged views on facilitating regional cooperation on COVID-19 response, resuming economic activities, facilitating international travel, developing and distributing vaccines, and multilateral cooperation in the region, including through the East Asia Summit (EAS).

3. Vice Minister Choi explained that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the ROK had increased sharply in August and September, but, due to the ROK government’s basic principle for COVID-19 response, “3T (Testing, Tracing and Treatment) strategy,” and strict implementation of social distancing, the curve has been flattened.

o Furthermore, Vice Minister Choi mentioned that, through this experience, it has been reaffirmed that the government should remain vigilant in its quarantine efforts under any circumstances, but at the same time, it is important to strike a balance between quarantine efforts and daily lives to reduce people’s fatigue.

o Meanwhile, Vice Minister Choi explained that the ROK government recently agreed with Japan to establish special entry procedures for business people.

o In addition, Vice Minister Choi said that the pandemic has placed health security at the heart of regional cooperation, and expressed hope that this year’s East Asia Summit (EAS) would serve as an opportunity to further enhance international cooperation.

o Lastly, he suggested continuing to work together through multilateral cooperation mechanisms including the COVAX Facility, a global system for vaccine supply, in order to ensure success in vaccine development and affordable and equitable access to vaccines for all countries.

4. The vice ministers agreed on the importance of close communication among countries in the region amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation and recognized that this teleconference had been very useful.