Evaluation of Joint Emergency Drills Among Three Countries
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced on the 23rd that it will attend the 15th Top Regulators' Meeting (TRM) on nuclear safety, to be held in Beijing, China, over two days from July 24 to 25. At this meeting, the commission will discuss cooperation measures with nuclear regulatory agencies from China and Japan.
Representing Korea at this meeting will be Cho Jeonga, Secretary General of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. From China, Dong Baotong, Director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, will participate. From Japan, Ban Nobuhiko, Standing Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, will attend.
The Top Regulators' Meeting was first established in 2008 to promote cooperation on nuclear safety regulation among Korea, China, and Japan. Through this framework, the three countries have shared regulatory experiences, reviewed emergency response systems, and sought ways to collaborate on regulatory issues.
This year's meeting will include sharing of nuclear safety regulatory policies and activities among the three countries, as well as discussions on technical issues such as the results of joint emergency drills and regulatory experiences related to the long-term operation of nuclear power plants.
The joint emergency drills are conducted so that each country can assess its emergency response capabilities in the event of a nuclear accident in a neighboring country. During these drills, the other two countries participate as observers while the host country conducts its own exercise.
During this meeting, participants will evaluate and review the results of the 7th drill (October 2023, Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Korea) and the 8th drill (February 2025, Tokai Nuclear Power Plant in Japan). Through these evaluations, the three countries will identify additional improvements related to their emergency response systems, discuss best practices, and share key takeaways.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission plans to listen directly to the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan regarding its specific management and inspection plans for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The commission will also request that Japan continue to ensure, in accordance with international safety standards, that the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean is continuously monitored and verified.
The commission intends to share regulatory experiences related to long-term operation of nuclear power plants, which is a common issue among the three countries, as well as inspection systems for operating nuclear power plants that utilize risk information. By doing so, the commission aims to enhance mutual understanding of each other's regulatory policies and systems, and will also review the applicability of exemplary cases from China and Japan to Korea.
Cho Jeonga, Secretary General, stated, "We will continue our efforts through the Top Regulators' Meeting to ensure that joint emergency drills are not merely repetitive exercises, but serve as practical training that further refines our emergency response systems."
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