1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), will host the 15th Republic of Korea-UN Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues in Jeju on November 17 and 18.

2. The forthcoming meeting will cover key pending issues regarding international disarmament and non-proliferation, including the North Korean nuclear issue; the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270; the link between biochemical, radioactive source and nuclear security and cyber security; and export control.

° Under the current, grave circumstance where North Korea, by conducting two nuclear tests and launching 24 ballistic missiles in 2016 alone, is posing a serious threat to international peace, security and non-proliferation regime, the participants will exchange in-depth views on ways for the international community to address the North’s nuclear and missile issues.

° With the ROK serving as the chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime from 2016 to 2017, the meeting will also cover ways to tighten the international export control regime.

3. The conference will bring together some 60 people, including high-level government officials and relevant experts from home and abroad as well as foreign diplomats to the ROK.

° On the sidelines of the conference, the ROK government plans to hold bilateral meetings on international disarmament and non-proliferation with government delegates from such countries as the US, Japan and India.

4. By holding the ROK-UN Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Issues, the signature meeting on disarmament and non-proliferation in the Asia-Pacific region that marks the 15th of its kind in 2016, the ROK government will seek to contribute constructively to relevant international discussions and to enhance its standing as a leading country in non-proliferation.


* unofficial translation