1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yoon Soon-gu will attend, as head of the delegation of the Republic of Korea, the Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOMs) of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which will take place in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand, this year’s ASEAN chair, from May 30 to 31.

2. At the ASEAN Plus Three SOM (May 30), the participants will review the progress in cooperation within the ASEAN Plus Three mechanism, including the recommendations of the East Asia Vision Group II, which the ROK government has led to increase cooperation in the region. They will also exchange views on the way forward, including work plans for 2019.

3. At the SOM of the EAS (May 30), the highest-level strategic forum bringing together all major countries in the region, the participants will review the progress in the implementation of the Manila Plan of Action, adopted in 2018 to set out concrete ways for the EAS to cooperate in each area. The participants will also discuss how initiatives regarding the Indo-Pacific region, including the ROK’s New Southern Policy, can work together; the situation on the Korean Peninsula; the South China Sea issue; and other key regional issues.

4. At the ARF SOM (May 31), the ROK will announce the results of the “ARF Inter-sessional Support Group Meeting on Confidence Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy (ISG)” and the “ARF Defense Officials’ Dialogue (DOD),” hosted by the ROK government from May 2 to 3. The participants will also exchange views on key regional and international security issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea issue, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, and cybersecurity.

5. At the upcoming SOMs, the participants will also discuss the agendas and preparations for this year’s ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings and Summits. In addition, the ROK delegation will have separate meetings with delegates from ASEAN member states to consult on preparations for the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the inaugural Mekong-ROK Summit, to be held in Busan from November 25 to 27.

* unofficial translation