1. The Minister for Trade, Mr. Kim Hyun-chong, will attend the Korea – ASEAN/ ASEAN+3 Economic Ministerial 
Meeting to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 24, 2006 to discuss matters relating to economic 
and trade cooperation between Korea and ASEAN and plans for economic integration in the East Asia region. 

* The Korea – ASEAN Economic Ministerial Meeting, a channel for consultations between Korea and ten 
ASEAN member countries, will be the third meeting of its kind and will discuss trade issues and the 
possibility of a Korea – ASEAN FTA.

* This year’s ASEAN+3 Economic Ministerial Meeting, consisting of ten member countries, Korea, China, and 
Japan, marks the ninth meeting of its kind.  At this year’s meeting, an announcement will be made on the 
outcomes of the feasibility study that has been carried out by a private experts’ group on the possibility 
expanding the ASEAN+3 framework to incorporate all of the East Asia region in the from of an East Asian FTA 
(EAFTA) and various cooperation projects will also be discussed.

2.  There will also be an informal luncheon for ASEAN+6 economic ministers, which will be attended by the 
ASEAN+3 economic ministers and Australian, New Zealand, and Indian economic ministers. 

                                                         Spokesperson for MOFAT

* unofficial translation