1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, in his capacity as Foreign Minister of the chair country of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), delivered a special address at the 26th NSG Plenary Meeting in Seoul on June 23.

° The Republic of Korea is serving as the chair country of the NSG for one year from the time the 26th Plenary Meeting is held, bringing together some 300 people, including high-level officials and experts in the fields of export control for non-proliferation from the 48 member states.

2. In his special address, he asked the NSG to play a more active role in the implementation of UN Security Council 2270 in a bid to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, the gravest threat to the international non-proliferation regime. He also requested that the NSG double its efforts to block North Korea’s attempts at procurement for its nuclear program.

[Gist of Minister Yun’s address]

° The 26th NSG Plenary Meeting is particularly meaningful in that the ROK hosted the meeting for the second time since the country started to take part in NSG activities twenty years ago; and that the Plenary convened at a critical juncture when the North Korean nuclear issue has become the most serious threat to the global non-proliferation regime.

° There is a clear divergence between the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs now, compared to 2003, when the ROK first hosted the NSG Plenary in Busan where those two programs were raised as very hot issues. In 2016, unlike the Iranian nuclear issue, which has entered the phase of resolution, the North Korean nuclear issue remains as the biggest threat to the international non-proliferation regime.

° As it has played a substantial role in the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through strong export control measures, the NSG is urged to play a constructive and creative role in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue by concentrating all its capability toward it. In particular, the NSG is expected to do the following at its 26th Plenary Meeting:

- Analyze the procurement channels for the North Korean nuclear program and seek ways to block them; and step up cooperation with the Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee in order for the NSG to strengthen its role as a bulwark in stopping North Korea’s nuclear advances.

- Pay due attention to the threat North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs pose from the nuclear security perspective, a concern in terms of nuclear security that is expected to be covered at the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Security in December, which will be chaired by Minister Yun.

- Send a clear, loud and powerful message against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the number one threat to the international non-proliferation regime at this critical juncture.

3. Minister Yun mentioned that the watch-list of items, outside of the NSG Control Lists that could be used in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, was circulated as an official document among the NSG member states at the Plenary Meeting; and voiced hope that the move will supplement the NSG’s role as a bulwark in stopping North Korea’s nuclear advances. The watch-list had been released by the ROK government on June 21.

4. In his special address, Minister Yun pointed out that North Korea is repeatedly making provocative moves, including the additional test-launches of Musudan missiles on June 22, despite the unprecedentedly stern and united warning messages from the international community in response to North Korea’s fourth nuclear test and test-launches of ballistic missiles in early 2016. He added that in contrast, the ROK is serving as the chair country of both the NSG and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which marks the first such case in the history of the Multilateral Export Control Regime in the nuclear and missile field.

° The participants in the Plenary Meeting reacted that the event helped contrast North Korea’s image as a “chronic violator” of the international non-proliferation norms and the ROK’s image as a “model country in terms of non-proliferation.”

5. Since the adoption of the Security Council sanctions resolution on North Korea in March, the ROK government has put into full gear diplomacy aimed at pressuring North Korea on the bilateral, minilateral, regional and multilateral levels. By hosting the Plenary Meeting of the NSG, a signature Multilateral Export Control Regime, the ROK is seen to have built a tighter network for blocking advances in the North Korean nuclear program and pressuring North Korea.

* unofficial translation