Vice Foreign Minister Meets U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy to Discuss Nuclear Security and Atomic Energy Cooperation

Kang In-seon, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with David Turk, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, during the '4th International Nuclear Security Conference' held in Vienna, Austria, to discuss cooperation measures in nuclear security and the nuclear energy sector.

Kang In-seon, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is taking a commemorative photo with David Turk, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, at the 4th International Nuclear Security Conference held in Vienna, Austria, on the 21st (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 22nd, both sides evaluated that the two countries are actively cooperating in the field of nuclear security during the meeting held on the 21st (local time), and agreed to continuously discuss ways to expand cooperation.

Since Vice Minister Kang and Deputy Secretary Turk are co-chairs of the Korea-U.S. permanent consultative body in the nuclear energy sector, the 'High-Level Bilateral Commission on Nuclear Energy' (HLBC), it is believed that discussions also continued regarding the difficulties in Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation caused by the legal dispute between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the U.S. nuclear company Westinghouse.

Earlier, on the 20th, Vice Minister Kang also met with Andrew Bowie, Deputy Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero of the United Kingdom. He also held separate meetings with representatives of major international organizations.

In his keynote speech at the International Nuclear Security Conference, he stated, "Korea will continue to participate in efforts to strengthen nuclear security to prevent nuclear terrorism in the international community," and announced that Korea will support the IAEA with 2 million USD (approximately 2.7 billion KRW) to respond to future nuclear security threats. The event, held over three days starting from the 20th, is the highest-level meeting in the international nuclear security field.