1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Insun visited Vienna, Austria, from May 20 to 22 and attended the ministerial segment of the fourth International Conference on Nuclear Security: Shaping the Future (ICONS 2024), a key event for the nuclear security community around the world hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

2. During the national statement session, Vice Minister Kang emphasized that as the host of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit as well as the president of the ICONS 2016, Korea is a strong advocate of global nuclear security efforts, introducing key contributions made by Korea such as supporting IAEA activities through financial and personnel contributions, offering nuclear security training courses for the international community, and enhancing capacity-building by hosting a variety of workshops.

3. In addition, she affirmed that Korea will continue its participation and support to strengthen global nuclear security, vowing to contribute $2 million to the Nuclear Security Fund (NSF) of the IAEA this year.

4. Vice Minister Kang also met with representatives of major international organizations based in Vienna. In the meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on May 21, they exchanged views on various issues, including the IAEA-Korea Fukushima Information Mechanism (IKFIM) as well as the DPRK nuclear issue, and agreed to enhance cooperation between the Korean government and the IAEA.

5. Additionally, Vice Minister Kang had a meeting with Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Robert Floyd on May 20, in which she appreciated the CTBTO’s support for the ROK’s efforts towards the DPRK’s complete denuclearization and asked for its continued strong support.