The Ministry of Education (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, KIM Sang-kon) will attend the second Republic of Korea (ROK)-Japan-China Education Ministers' meeting on March 21 (Wednesday) in Tokyo, Japan.

During the ROK-Japan and ROK-China bilateral meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Kim will note the joint efforts that have been made to further promote education cooperation. He will also present a vision in his keynote speech for the three countries' shared prosperity in the area of education cooperation, and Education Ministers will sign a joint communique on cooperation.

The ROK-Japan-China Education Ministers' Meeting is a ministerial level meeting of the three neighboring countries, initiated by the Korean Ministry of Education in 2016. ROK, in particular, took the lead by hosting the first Trilateral Education Ministers' meeting in Seoul.

As an outcome of the first Trilateral Meeting in 2016, Education Ministers of the three countries adopted the Seoul Declaration and agreed on 1) laying the foundation for the trilateral meeting, 2) expanding the CAMPUS Asia program, and 3) hosting the Trilateral Rectors' Forum.

At the second Trilateral Meeting, the three Education Ministers will exchange views on the outcome of the existing education cooperation programs delineated in the Seoul Declaration, and present ways forward through keynote speeches. They will also discuss about 1) exchanging youths and students, 2) promoting trilateral cooperation in the field of higher education, and 3) cooperating in education for its contribution to global education development.

In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Kim will meet with Chinese Minister of Education Chen Baosheng and Japanese Minister of Education Yoshimasa Hayashi for bilateral meetings to share their views and insights on having a closer bilateral education cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Kim will visit Tokyo Korean School to see overseas Koreans' learning environment and have a meeting with school faculty members for further discussions.

Deputy Prime Minister Kim noted, "The role of the three countries' Education Ministers is imperative in peacefully resolving various political and diplomatic issues relevant to the Northeast Asia region." He expressed his hope and added, "I hope that this Trilateral Meeting would provide an important opportunity for Education Ministers to foster mutual understanding and promote joint efforts."

*unofficial translation