1. On March 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted an interagency meeting to seek ways to better protect foreign diplomats and their missions in the Republic of Korea.

◦ The meeting brought together relevant officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, the National Intelligence Service, the National Police Agency, the Yongsang-gu Office and the Jongno-gu Office.

2. The meeting came to seek measures to better protect foreign diplomats and their missions in the ROK, as decided at the emergency meeting of relevant Vice Ministers chaired by the Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination on the heels of the attack on US Ambassador to the ROK Mark Lippert that occurred on March 5.

3. The participating government agencies agreed to hold the meeting on a quarterly basis to review safety threats to foreign diplomats and missions and to continue seeking preemptive safety measures.

4. They also agreed that each government agency will draw up measures of its own to that end and work more closely with local diplomatic missions of the ROK’s major partner countries in a bid to share with them substantive information on safety threats to foreign diplomats and missions.

5. Building on the outcome of the interagency meeting, the Foreign Ministry will set up a close cooperative interagency system and make utmost efforts to better protect foreign diplomats and missions. 


                Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation