The NPT states parties are expected to discuss diverse disarmament and non-proliferation issues including the North Korean nuclear issue.

1. The 2022 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York from August 1 to August 26. In the meeting, the participants will review the progress in the implementation of the NPT over the last seven years since its last round in 2015 and discuss ways to strengthen the NPT regime, which has served as the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime for more than half a century.

* The NPT Review Conference is held in New York every five years to review the progress in the implementation of the NPT and have discussions focused on the three pillars of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. A Conference was originally scheduled for 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 and is going to be held in August 2022.

2. The forthcoming NPT Review Conference is expected to focus on the progress in the implementation of past commitments to the Action Plan agreed upon at the past rounds, the progress in nuclear disarmament in Nuclear Weapons States under the NPT, the nuclear challenges related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the proposed establishment of a weapons of mass destruction (WMD)-free zone in the Middle East.

- Due to the deterioration of the international disarmament and non-proliferation environment caused by the Ukrainian crisis, it is expected that confrontations among countries are going to stand out more than ever, and the nuclear risk reduction and nuclear management are going to be an important part of the agenda.

3. The government of the Republic of Korea will make efforts for the upcoming Review Conference to have balanced discussions on the three pillars of the NPT -- nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of the nuclear energy -- to achieve meaningful progress in those discussions, and thereby to contribute to bolstering the NPT regime.

- The government of the Republic of Korea will deliver a keynote speech which covers the need to make progress in nuclear disarmament substantially and gradually with the current security environment of each state taken into account, to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime including through a unified response to the North Korean nuclear issue, and to enhance cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear power.    

4. In addition, the government of the Republic of Korea will seek closer cooperation from the international community in a bid for the DPRK, which is deeply undermining the international non-proliferation regime, to achieve denuclearization and return to a full compliance with the NPT at an early date.

- On the sidelines of this Review Conference, the ROK and France plan to co-host a side event regarding the North Korean nuclear issue on August 1, expecting that it will serve as a great opportunity for the international community to deliver a unified message for the resolution of this issue.