1. The junior-diplomat exchange program between the Republic of Korea and Japan will resume this year. The ROK Foreign Ministry will dispatch one of its junior diplomats to the Japanese Foreign Ministry from February 20 through March 2, and will invite a Japanese official at an appropriate time this year.

2. The program was temporarily conducted from 1998 through 2001 under the “ROK-Japan Joint Declaration: A New Japan-ROK Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century,” agreed upon between President Kim Dae-jung and his Japanese counterpart during President Kim’s visit to the country in October 1998. It will resume as agreed between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries this year.

3. The exchange program is expected to contribute to developing friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries in a future-oriented manner by: enhancing mutual understanding and trust between diplomats of the two countries; building a human network; and facilitating smooth communication between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.

                                   Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation