The 11th Senior Officials Meeting was organized on 25-26 October 2005 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The meeting reviewed a wide range of NEASPEC activities including the first NEASPEC environment ministers meeting held during the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in 2005 (MCED 2005), Framework for a Nature Conservation Programme in North-East Asia and Mitigation of Transboundary Air Pollution from Coal-Fired Power Plants, as well as the follow-up activities of MCED 2005 and projects on dust and sandstorm. Moreover, the Meeting discussed the proposals for future activities on emerging issues related to environmentally sustainable economic growth and North-East Asia Environment Outlook. The expenditure of NEASPEC Core Fund and the contributions of member States are also considered.

Prior to SOM-11, an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on emerging issues related to environmentally sustainable economic growth in North-East Asia was held. In the EGM, there were resource persons' presentations and country reports focusing on eco-efficiency, as well as discussions on proper approaches to NEASPEC activities.

The key outcomes of the meeting are as follows:

• Reaffirmed the significance of NEASPEC in tackling common environmental challenges in the subregion and decided to explore proper ways for strengthening its institutional mechanisms. In particular, the Meeting requested the Secretariat to undertake research on future institutional mechanism and circulate the result among the member States in advance of the next SOM in order to make a meaningful decision at the Meeting;
• Noted the importance of ensuring the Nature Conservation Project to produce concrete outcomes and developing possible options for the participation of DPRK and the Russian Federation in an ADB-funded project on air pollution from coal-fired power plants;
• Concluded to develop a new activity on eco-efficiency in North-East Asia, and to organize an EGM in 2006 as a preparatory process of project development. In relation to the proposal on North-East Asia Environment Outlook, the Meeting requested the Secretariat to make additional efforts to elaborate on the project concept in details and circulate the proposal among the member States for further consultation; and
• Considered the possibility of holding an informal NEASPEC ministers' meeting during other minister meetings such as the 14th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.