1. The 7th Korea-Japan-China Senior Foreign Officials' Consultation was held in Beijing, China, on March 5, with MOFAT’s Deputy Minister Kim Jae-shin and his Japanese and China counterparts, Koro Bessho and Fu Ying, as the heads of their respective delegations.

2. In the Meeting, the three head delegates reviewed the progress made last year among the three countries, including stronger cooperation in disaster management and nuclear safety; the completion of a joint feasibility study on a trilateral FTA; and increased exchanges in the sectors of education, tourism and culture. Furthermore, they agreed to take the occasion of the 5th trilateral summit and the 6th trilateral foreign ministerial meeting, both of which will be held in the first half of this year in China, to further boost trilateral cooperation, and consulted on its main future direction.

3. The 1st Asia Policy Dialogue took place as part of the Consultation, as agreed on at the 4th trilateral summit held in Tokyo, Japan, on May 22, 2011, for the three sides to exchange in-depth views on North Korea issues, the relations between each of the three countries with other major nations, cooperation in East Asia, the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear issue.

4. On the sidelines of the trilateral Consultation, Deputy Minister Kim met with his Chinese counterpart Fu, during which the two sides discussed bilateral issues and agreed to maintain close cooperation toward a resolution of the issues concerning North Korean defectors and fishing operations.

                 Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation