1. At the meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under way in Vienna, Austria, from September 7 through 11, the Republic of Korea was named the chair country of the second International Conference on Nuclear Security, which will take place at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on December 5-9, 2016.

◦ At the meeting of the Board of Governors on September 7, IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano announced that the ROK was selected as the chair country of the second International Conference on Nuclear Security. The ROK’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will serve as chair of the second International Conference on Nuclear Security.

- The ROK will formally start serving as the chair country of the aforementioned meeting by taking part in the activities of the IAEA Preparatory Commission from January 2016.

◦ The IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security is one held to strengthen the capacity of the IAEA, which plays a pivotal role in promoting international cooperation on nuclear security, and to step up international cooperation on nuclear security. The conference is expected to contribute to the establishment of an enduring nuclear security architecture by playing a central role in the international nuclear security regime after the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), which will be held in Washington, the US, in March 2016.

2. The IAEA’s selection of the ROK as the chair country of the next International Conference on Nuclear Security reflects confidence in and positive assessments of the ROK’s capability and contributions with regard to nuclear security and the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

◦ The ROK, while serving as the chair of the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security, will also assume the chairmanship of the Nuclear Suppliers Group for 2016-2017. By doing so, the country is expected to contribute greatly to the efforts to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime and address pending security issues.

- At the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) held in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 2014, President Park Geun-hye stressed the need to take an integrated approach for nuclear security, nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation to create synergy.

3. The ROK has contributed continuously to international nuclear security since hosting the NSS in 2012. As the chair country of the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security, the country will make efforts for the political momentum, built through the NSS process, to establish itself as an IAEA institution, and to enhance the IAEA’s pivotal role in the field of nuclear security.


* unofficial translation