1. Representative for Arctic Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Park Heung-kyeong signed “the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean” in Ilulissat, Greenland, on October 3.

° The Agreement signing ceremony brought together government delegates from ten countries -- the United States, the Russian Federation, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Norway, countries bordering the Arctic Ocean; and the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Iceland and the European Union, non-Arctic ones.

2. By concluding the Agreement, the state parties have paved the way for cooperation in protecting and managing fish resources on the high seas of the Arctic, including temporarily suspending high seas fishing operations in the Arctic region and holding a meeting of the state parties on a biennial basis to develop joint scientific research programs and to share the research results.

° If joint scientific research leads to the judgment that it is possible to conduct fishing operations in a sustainable way on the high seas of the Arctic, a regional fisheries organization will be founded, and the ROK government will participate in it.

° The ROK government will start to mull over joining the efforts to develop joint scientific research programs and taking part in pilot scientific studies pursuant to the Agreement.

3. Global warming has accelerated the melting of ice on the high seas of the Arctic, raising the need for scientific research on the risks of overfishing triggered by indiscriminate fishing operations and on fish resources. Amid this, the fact that the ROK, a non-Arctic country, has contributed to the creation of relevant international norms carries great significance in that the country’s diplomatic horizon has expanded to include the Arctic region.

4. The ROK government plans to undergo domestic procedures necessary for bringing the Agreement into force.

° The Agreement will enter into force 30 days after the ten state parties deposit their instruments of ratification to Canada, the depositary.

* unofficial translation