[Title] Joint Press Statement of the Third Meeting of the Three-Party Committee of the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea

1. The Third Meeting of the Three-Party Committee of the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was held on 7 May 2005 in Kyoto, Japan. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Li Zhaoxing, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, and attended by Mr. Ki-Moon Ban, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of ROK and Mr. Nobutaka Machimura, Foreign Minister of Japan.

2. The Ministers highly evaluated the progress of the trilateral cooperation since the Trilateral Summit Meeting held last year. It was emphasized that more concrete measures should be taken to implement the Action Strategy on Trilateral Cooperation among the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea endorsed by the last Trilateral Summit Meeting. In this regard, the Ministers encouraged the relevant authorities to explore the possibilities to formulate plans of actions or priority guidelines to further the Action Strategy.

3. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the trilateral cooperation. They were of the view that it would contribute to the friendship and confidence among the three countries to maintain the active momentum of the trilateral cooperation. In this regard, the Ministers agreed to formulate common recognition on the future orientation of the trilateral cooperation. The Ministers tasked their Directors-General to have further discussion on this matter.

4. The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the closer economic relations among the three countries and called for further studies on the economic effects of the possible trilateral Free Trade Area being conducted by the three research institutes. The Ministers stressed the need to strengthen the consultations to explore a legal framework concerning investment among the three countries and reaffirmed the commitment to implement measures to improve business environment as soon as possible. The Ministers encouraged further cooperation on the protection of Intellectual Property Rights.

5. The Ministers stressed the importance of energy cooperation among the three countries. In this regard, the Ministers welcomed the dialogue among the three Foreign Ministries, which has enhanced the mutual understanding.

6. The Ministers shared the view that a certain advantages prevailed over the three countries in the field of cultural cooperation. They encouraged the relevant ministries and authorities of the three countries to explore the possibility of conducting far-flung cultural activities, such as the designation of the commemorative year of cultural exchanges with a view to promoting mutual understanding among the peoples of China, Japan and ROK.

7. The Ministers exchanged views on the latest development of the ASEAN plus Three (China, Japan and ROK) cooperation and the East Asia Summit (EAS) to be held by the end of this year. They decided to activate the Senior Officials Dialogue at the vice Minister level in an appropriate time and manner to enhance coordination among the three countries, inter alia, on regional cooperation. The Ministers also discussed issues related to the Korean Peninsula. They shared the view that the nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through diplomatic means such as the Six-Party Talks and emphasized the need for its earliest possible resumption to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Ministers underlined the importance of the reform of the United Nations and its principal organs, including the General Assembly and the Security Council, with a view to strengthening and enhancing the representativeness, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the UN system.

8. The Ministers decided to fix the date and venue for the next Meeting of the Three Party Committee later this year through diplomatic channel to prepare for the 7th Trilateral Summit in Malaysia in December 2005.