Twenty-First Republic of Korea-United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament, Non-Proliferation Issues to Be Hosted in Seoul, 3-4 November

NEW YORK, 2 November (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The twenty-first iteration of the Republic of Korea–United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues will take place in Seoul on 3 and 4 November.

The event is organized by the Government of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and focuses on exploring contemporary disarmament-related topics through candid discussions on issues of importance to regional and international security.  The Conference brings together a variety of national and international participants, including Government officials, United Nations officials and representatives from civil society organizations, including think-tanks and academia.

Together with Park Yong-min, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, will open the Conference in person.  About 50 representatives of Governments and intergovernmental organizations, research institutes and think-tanks will participate in the two-day meeting.

Titled “Assessing the future disarmament landscape:  space security and missile development”, the twenty-first edition of the Conference will look at the future and address topics that are rapidly unfolding in the face of new and emerging challenges in the field of international security.  A growing range of threats to space systems and risks for miscalculations have raised concerns for the international community on the possibility of a new arms race in outer space and has further highlighted the need to develop norms, rules and principles to respond to these threats.

Participants will engage in discussion to analyse the current status and discussions on outer-space security, and further discuss the way forward for the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviours.  Participants will also discuss the issue of ballistic missiles and means of delivery testing by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and their impact to regional and global security.  With a particular focus on discussing views from East and South-East Asia, the Conference aims to serve as a forum for open and constructive exchanges of views among participants from around the world.

The Conference is financed by the Government of the Republic of Korea, including through its voluntary contributions to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, supported by its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific.

For more information, please contact Ji Yeon Rho, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, at email:  ji.rho@un.org.