Second meeting for US-Korea High Level Commission

20 August 2018

Senior delegates from nuclear energy-related ministries and organisations in South Korea and the USA met on 16 August in Washington DC, in the second plenary meeting of the High Level Bilateral Commission (HLBC) of the two countries.

Brouillette and Cho at the HLBC plenary (Image: @EnergyDepSec)

The HLBC was launched in 2016 to facilitate strategic dialogue and technical exchanges on peaceful nuclear cooperation, as required under their 2015 bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement. The 16 August meeting, which was co-chaired by US Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, was also the first following the inauguration of the countries' respective administrations.

Brouillette and Cho discussed the management of used nuclear fuel, reliability in the nuclear fuel market, exports and export control cooperation, and nuclear security and non-proliferation. They also agreed on future joint technical activities in each of these areas, including a decision to hold follow-up consultations on ways to cooperate in exporting nuclear power plants to third countries.

"The issues we discussed remain critical to advancement of civil nuclear energy and nuclear nonproliferation in our respective countries and around the world. I look forward to further strengthening our longstanding relationship with the Republic of Korea in these matters," Brouillette said.

Participants from the USA included senior officials from the Department of Energy, the Department of State, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Security Council. The Korean delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and experts from relevant organizations.

The third plenary meeting is to be held in Seoul in 2019.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News