South Korea, Japan and China will seek to strengthen cooperation on nuclear safety as they gather for a meeting with related officials and experts next week, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
South Korea will host the International Forum on Northeast Asia Nuclear Safety Cooperation in Seoul on Oct. 22-23 with the aim of building a consensus on the need for a regional body tasked with promoting nuclear safety, the ministry said in a press release.
The meeting will bring together government officials from the three countries, the United States, Russia, Mongolia, France and Canada, as well as nuclear experts from international organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the World Association of Nuclear Operators.
The forum, which will be held for the third time since its establishment in 2013, expands on the Top Regulators’ Meeting involving senior nuclear safety regulators from South Korea, Japan and China.
This year’s session, which will be held under the theme “Enhancing Northeast Asian Leadership in Nuclear Safety,” is expected to review the IAEA’s report on the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and its implications for Northeast Asian cooperation on nuclear safety as well as various measures to strengthen cooperation on nuclear safety regulations, responding to nuclear accidents and carrying out related research.
During the session, South Korea plans to propose building on a Northeast Asian nuclear safety body proposed by President Park Geun-hye in August last year.
“Our government hopes that this meeting will be an opportunity to earnestly begin talks on specific measures to establish a Northeast Asian nuclear safety body among related nations, including South Korea, Japan and China,” the ministry said.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is scheduled to open the two-day forum with a speech. (Yonhap)
