1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Sei-young had the 9^th multilateral teleconference on COVID-19 response with his counterparts of countries in the region on the morning of May 15.

o The teleconference among the vice foreign ministers of 7 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 nine times on a weekly basis following the first meeting on March 20.

2. The vice foreign ministers concluded the regular consultation with the 9^th teleconference, and agreed to continue close communication through various bilateral and multilateral channels and hold additional consultation, if necessary.

3. The vice foreign ministers noted with appreciation that by holding the nine teleconferences for the past two months, they have closely collaborated in sharing best practices on COVID-19 response; supporting the repatriation of their nationals; facilitating the stable supply of medical supplies; supporting countries vulnerable to COVID-19; and sharing information promptly and transparently and countering disinformation.

4. The vice ministers agreed to continue working together through various channels to share best practices as our governments, economies and societies return to normal; maintain necessary aviation and transportation links to allow essential movement, including business travel; strengthen resiliency and sustainability of global supply chains; develop vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for COVID-19; and uphold the principles of transparency, accountability, and sharing of accurate information.

5. Vice Minister Cho took note that the participating countries have had timely and useful consultations on a range of areas through the nine teleconferences, and expressed appreciation to the U.S. for playing a leading role, including proposing the teleconference.

o Vice Minister Cho explained that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the ROK has recently been increasing due to the infections which started in clubs in Seoul. He further explained that the ROK government is making efforts to prevent this incident leading to a bigger outbreak and ensure that people continue their daily activities by thoroughly tracing and testing close contacts, which is at the core of its disease control policy.

o In addition, Vice Minister Cho said that while continuing to respond to COVID-19 based on openness, transparency, and accountability, the ROK will contribute actively to the global efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic crisis by transparently and proactively sharing its experiences in disease control and COVID-19-related information with the international community.