1. The Republic of Korea and the United States are holding Winter Tiger III, a Radiological and Nuclear Consequence Management Scenario-Based Policy Discussion, on December 6-7 in Seoul. 

※ Winter Tiger I held in 2017, Winter Tiger II in 2019.

° Winter Tiger III focuses on radiological and nuclear (R/N) terrorism incident response capabilities, including first response and consequence management of relevant authorities and public messaging, based on a fictional radiological terrorism incident with an impact to both the ROK and the U.S. This two-day event is held to support ongoing ROK-U.S. cooperation and seek out opportunities for increased cooperation in the area of regional and global nuclear security. 

2. Winter Tiger is one of the significant outcomes of the ROK-U.S. cooperation under the auspices of the Nuclear Security Working Group (NSWG) of the High-Level Bilateral Commission (HLBC). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROK and the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration co-host the joint exercise, while participants include representatives from ROK and U.S. government bodies and agencies responsible for R/N terrorism incident response. 

° Participants from the ROK side are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC), Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), Korea National Fire Agency (KNFA), Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), Korea Institute of Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Control (KINAC), Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS), Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and CBRN Defense Command (CBRDC), Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), Ministry of National Defense (MND), and others. 

° Participants from the U.S. side are the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE NNSA), Department of State (DOS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Guard Bureau (NGB), and others. The total number of participants from both sides will be around 150. 

3. The Winter Tiger series has brought together a number of authorities to generate a robust conversation and a productive sharing of best practices, thus strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance. Winter Tiger is now seen as the most distinguished platform in the area of R/N counterterrorism. 

° In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Park Yongmin said that Winter Tiger III would contribute to building R/N terrorism response capabilities and cooperation channels between the two countries, emphasizing the importance of coordination among the participating authorities, crisis communication, and bilateral cooperation.