President Lee Myung-bak emphasized East Asian regional cooperation to solve the problems of climate change, the international financial crisis, natural disasters and North Korea's nuclear programs, at the East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Sunday, October 25.
The EAS is composed of 10 ASEAN countries, three East Asian countries (Korea, China, Japan), India, New Zealand and Australia.

President Lee said that developing countries' voluntary greenhouse gas reductions aimed at tackling global climate change should be recognized and encouraged in the international community. The President also introduced the Korean government's emissions reduction efforts and vision of "low carbon, green growth." He then reconfirmed his will to foster regional cooperation in dealing with global climate change through regional channels as the East Asia Climate Partnership.

Pointing out that EAS members such as Korea, China, Japan and Australia also belong to the Group of Twenty (G20), President Lee called for the EAS's contribution to the success of the G20 Summit. He also said that Korea, as the next chair of the G20 meeting, would reflect ASEAN's suggestions as much as possible at the meeting.

The Korean President expressed concerns over the frequent occurrence of natural disasters in Southeast Asia and emphasized stronger regional collaboration to address such problems. He also pledged to enlarge Korea's humanitarian assistance.

The EAS members concurred that North Korea's nuclear problems should be solved peacefully, and expressed support for the continuous implementation of UN resolutions and the early resumption of the six-party talks.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, a Chairman's Statement was issued by the Chair of the 4th EAS.