The first Meeting of Subcommittee for Cooperation on Inter-Korean Agriculture and Fishery

The first meeting of Subcommittee for Cooperation on Inter-Korean Agriculture and Fishery was held at Janamsan Motel in Gaeseong from Dec. 14 to 15, 2007.
The two Koreas had consulted about cooperation on agriculture and fishery sector such as cooperation on seeds and genetic resources, establishment of quarantine system for plants and animals, South Korean ships entrance to the fishing area in the North s territory in the East Sea, and adopted an agreement containing six points and eight clauses.

Major Agreements
1. Prompt Promotion of the Construction of Seed Production and Processing Facilities as well as Genetic Resources Preservation Facilities
• On-site survey will be held on Dec. 21-25 with 20 people participating to investigate conditions of a location including its infrastructure
• The North will provide reference documents and amenities, while the South will offer equipment and construction materials
• Working-level contacts will be held in Gaeseong in Jan. 2008.
• Consultative meetings on technology will be held in Mar., 2008 for joint research of seed production and genetic engineering.

2. Promotion of the Establishment of Quarantine System and Related Cooperation
• Cooperation will be made in such fields as mutual exchanges of information, inspection of major quarantines, modernization of sterilization instruments, medicines for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of domestic animal diseases.
• Working-level contacts will be held in Gaeseong in Jan. 2008.

3. Promotion of Cooperation on Fruits, Vegetables, Sericulture, and Agricultural Technology

4. Active Promotion of Cooperative Projects for Mutual Benefits in Fishing Sector
• The South s fishing boats will enter into a designated zone of the North s fishing grounds in the East Sea and start fishing in 2008. • The two sides will seek cooperation on production and processing of maritime resources, development of high quality breeds, and farming. They will conduct a on-site survey within the first half of 2008).
• They will also closely cooperate for the efficient distribution of processed fishery products.
• Working-level contact will be held in Gaeseong in early 2008 for the smooth promotion of cooperation in the fishing industry.

5. Schedules of the second meeting of Subcommittee for Cooperation on Agriculture and Fishery and follow-up working-level contacts will be discussed and determined through the exchange of documents.

Through this contact, the two Koreas agreed on detailed schedule and direction of the promotion of cooperation projects on agriculture and fishing industries that were agreed upon at the first inter-Korean Prime Ministers Talks and the first meeting of inter-Korean Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation.
• This contact has created an environment to actively promote inter-Korean cooperation on agriculture and fishing sectors, which had been suspended since the first Agricultural Cooperation Committee on Aug. 2005 and the working-level Consultative Meeting on Fishery Cooperation on Jul. 2005.
• Also, since the meeting of first subcommittee established under the Joint Committee for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation has been successfully held, it is expected that inter-Korean economic cooperation will be smoothly carried out through other follow-up subcommittees.