1. The Republic of Korea-US High-Level Disarmament and Nonproliferation Consultation will take place at the US Department of State on December 17, with Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Shin Dong-ik and US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller leading their respective delegations.

o The ROK and the US have held the High-Level Disarmament and Nonproliferation Consultation on a regular basis since 2013 and have closely consulted on the issue in order to better understand major issues in the area of disarmament, nonproliferation and global security, as well as to strengthen cooperation in the area.

2. In the upcoming Consultation, the two sides will discuss major issues in the area of disarmament and nonproliferation, including the Nuclear Security Summit, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues, and the export control system. The two sides will also engage in a broad exchange of views on global security issues, including space, public health, and biological security.

o They will discuss ways for the ROK and the US to work together to successfully hold the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in 2016, as well as the ROK Foreign Minister’s chairmanship of the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security in December 2016. The two sides will also discuss the direction of the ROK’s activities as chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) from 2016 to 2017.

3. On the sidelines of the Consultation, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Shin Dong-ik will have a separate meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Bathsheba N. Croaker and Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Robert King, and exchange views on issues of mutual concern.

4. During his visit to the US, Deputy Minister Shin will also attend an expert workshop on the ROK-US Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, to be held from December 14 to 16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is the center of nuclear energy research and development in the US. At the workshop, Deputy Minister Shin will assess accomplishments attained in the revised ROK-US Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, and the significance of the Agreement, as well as exchange views on ways for the two countries to expand strategic nuclear cooperation.

o Deputy Minister Shin’s participation in the expert workshop is part of the outreach efforts towards domestic and foreign experts. The Foreign Ministry has engaged in such efforts before and after the entry into force of the revised ROK-US Agreement (November 25). The Foreign Ministry will continue to work to gather opinions of domestic and foreign experts in academia, industry and the science sector.


*unofficial translation