1. The Republic of Korea, together with the Republic of Chile, the Argentine Republic, and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, will conduct international joint inspections in Antarctica from February 17 till March 4 to review how research stations in Antarctica and nearby facilities are being operated, and report the results of the inspections to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), to be held in early July.

o The inspection in Antarctica, carried out pursuant to Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty, is a process where an Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party visits other Contracting Party’s facilities in Antarctica, including stations, ships and aircraft, and verifies compliance with the Treaty in order to achieve the Treaty’s goals of “peaceful use of Antarctica” and “freedom in scientific research.”

2. The inspection in Antarctica is all Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties’ right and responsibility, but so far, only some of the countries with capabilities for inspection have conducted inspections. Considering this, at the 39th ATCM in 2016, the ROK stressed the need for a new cooperative inspection model that uses Consultative Parties’ resources and capabilities in a mutually-beneficial and complementary manner and enables a wider range of countries to participate in inspections. As a result, the Inter-sessional Contact Group was formed to assess inspection activities in Antarctica and explore alternatives. The ROK, the Netherlands, and the US co-chaired the Group for one year, making recommendations for institutional improvement. The ROK’s participation in the upcoming joint inspections holds big significance in that it is a result of such efforts.

3. The Antarctic Treaty inspection requires expertise in Antarctic science and environmental preservation, understanding of the Antarctic Treaty and environmental regulations, and knowledge and experience in the operation of infrastructure on the ground. The ROK’s participation in the inspection in Antarctica comes 26 years after researcher Chang Soon-Keun of the then Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (predecessor of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology) was invited to participate in international joint inspections hosted by the UK in late 1992.

4. Director-General for International Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bae Jong-in said that the ROK’s participation in the joint inspections showed the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties’ recognition of the ROK as an exemplary member state. He went on to say that Antarctic cooperation between the ROK and Chile that had continued, including the ROK-Chile director-general-level dialogue on Antarctic policy, had a positive impact on the ROK’s participation in the joint inspections.

5. The participation in the international joint inspections in Antarctica is expected to help the ROK gain a lot of know-how in ways to carry out the Antarctic Treaty inspections. Building upon this, the ROK will actively participate in discussions on improvement measures to conduct inspections in Antarctica more efficiently, and continue to increase its role as a responsible member of the ATCM.

* unofficial translation