South Korea Promises Global Nuclear Security, Continues Military Cost-Sharing Talks with US Ally

On May 22, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that Vice Minister Kang In-sun pledged that Seoul will continue to participate and provide support to help strengthen global nuclear security against nuclear terrorism and other threats.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun speaks at the ICONS Conference on May 20 in Vienna, Austria. (Source: Yonhap)

Yonhap news agency reported that Mr. Kang In-sun made this commitment at the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS) held in Vienna (Austria) on May 20 (local time).

ICONS is a high-level international conference on nuclear security organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attracting more than 2,000 participants from over 130 countries and IAEA member organizations. This year's conference, themed "Shaping the Future", opened on May 20.

The South Korean Vice Foreign Minister also announced that Seoul will contribute $2 million through the AEA to help respond to future nuclear security threats.

Ms. Kang In-sun also emphasized that Korea will actively participate in efforts to promote the international nuclear security mechanism, including cooperation with the IAEA in supporting nuclear energy for Ukraine.

Also during his visit to Austria, the Korean Vice Foreign Minister met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and discussed the issue of continuing to monitor Japan's discharge of treated radioactive wastewater.

She asked the IAEA to ensure that Korean experts will continue to be able to participate in the monitoring mechanism of this activity led by the UN agency.

In another development related to South Korea, on the same day, this country and the US held a new round of negotiations on sharing military costs.

The talks, which ran from May 21 to 23, were aimed at determining how much Seoul would need to contribute to stationing 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops, starting in 2026.

South Korean Foreign Ministry chief negotiator Lee Tae-woo and his US counterpart Linda Specht are leading the talks.

The May 21 talks, held at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, involved officials from the South Korean defense and finance ministries and arms procurement agency, along with officials from the Pentagon and the USFK. The talks ended around 4:30 p.m. the same day.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/han-quoc-hua-hen-ve-an-ninh-hat-nhan-toan-cau-tiep-tuc-dam-phan-chia-se-chi-phi-quan-su-voi-dong-minh-us-272185.html