1. The government of the Republic of Korea will send a government delegation to the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place in Sendai, Japan, from March 14 through 18. The delegation will be led by Minister of Public Safety and Security Park In-yong and composed of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Safety and Security.

◦ The upcoming meeting, the third of its kind following the first and the second held in 1994 and 2005, respectively, will be hosted by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

◦ The main purposes of the meeting are to review the progress in the past 10 years in the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, the disaster reduction strategy of the international community adopted in 2005; and to adopt a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, a strategy plan to replace the Hyogo Framework upon its expiration, with a view to setting guidelines for international action in the area of disaster prevention to be used across the world.

2. The conference will bring together some 6,000 people, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and top- or minister-level, or other delegates from 120-odd countries as well as those from international organizations and civil societies.

3. At the meeting, the ROK government delegation will express its view of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction as a meaningful starting point for discussions on the post-2015 global agenda; highlight the importance of achieving sustainable development through the simultaneous pursuit of disaster risk reduction and development as well as the importance of education on disaster risk reduction; and propose using the UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia and the UN Education and Training Institute for Urban Risk Reduction, both of which are located in Songdo, Incheon, to that end.

◦ At the minister-level roundtable, the delegates will discuss ways for the international community to work together in implementing the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction and exchange views on possible strategies for disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific region.

4. On the sidelines of the UN meeting, the ROK Foreign Ministry will host a working breakfast for delegates from Northeast Asian countries -- the US, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia -- on March 16 to discuss ways to work together on disaster management for peace and prosperity in the region.

◦ The working breakfast is expected to pave the way for a sustainable and regularly-convened consultative mechanism for cooperation on disaster management among Northeast Asian countries. 


                        Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
                        Ministry of Public Safety and Security

* unofficial translation