Environment ministers from South Korea, China and Japan on Sunday vowed to build a sound material- cycle society in the Northeast Asian region.

The agreement is a part of a joint statement issued Sunday at the end of the 7th Tripartite Environment Ministers' Meeting (TEMM) held in Seoul.

South Korean Environment Minister Lee Jae-yong, Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration of China and Japanese Environment Minister Koike Yuriko attended the two-day meeting.

The three environment officials reaffirmed in the statement that building a sound material-cycle society is essential in achieving sustainable development in Northeast Asia.

"The ministers recognized that the three countries are building sound material-cycle and environmentally-friendly society through various efforts," said the statement.

"The three ministers concurred that the three countries take turns holding joint seminars or workshops on sound material-cycle society and circular economy and 3R (waste reduction, recycle and reuse) activities for the next three years as important TEMM activities to strengthen trilateral cooperation on this issue," statement said.

Meanwhile, at a press conference after the TEMM, Xie Zhenhua said the sustainable development can be achieved only by developing recycling-based economy in the three countries.

"China, South Korea and Japan all have large population, all suffer from resources shortage, but all have been seeking relatively rapid economic growth," said Xie.

"Only after We adopt recycling-based economy, we can achieve sustainable development which is of our three countries' national interests," Xie stressed.

At the same time, the environment officials of the three countries also welcomed the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol this February, evaluating its importance as a first step toward achieving the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"The ministers confirmed that the three countries should enhance domestic efforts as well as international cooperation especially in the fields of public awareness raising and technology development, deployment and transfer based on the principle of common but differential responsibility," said the statement.

According to the statement, they also discussed the dust and sandstorm issue.

"They recognized the necessity of capacity building for environmental management and monitoring as well as the necessity of promoting a monitoring network and information sharing of data obtained through national monitoring and related bilateral projects," said the statement.

The 8th TEMM will be held in Beijing, China. The first TEMM was held in South Korea in 1999.

Source: Xinhua