The meeting is scheduled to take place in Seoul from June 2 to 3 to discuss follow-up measures in the security field under the Joint Fact Sheet issued last November after the Korea-U.S. summit, according to the ministry.
South Korea’s delegation will be led by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and include officials from key security, energy, science, industry and nuclear safety agencies.
The U.S. delegation will be led by Allison Hooker, under secretary of state for political affairs, and include officials from the NSC, State Department, Energy Department and Department of War.
The State Department also said Hooker will visit South Korea from June 1 to 3, leading an interagency delegation to advance nuclear cooperation initiatives reached during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea last October.
The meeting is expected to cover key security-related agenda items agreed upon by the two leaders, including the construction of nuclear-powered submarines, Seoul’s push to secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing rights, and shipbuilding cooperation.
The South Korean government believes a separate agreement with the U.S. is needed for Washington to supply military nuclear fuel for the planned nuclear-powered submarine.
For uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for civilian nuclear power generation, Seoul would need to revise the existing Korea-U.S. agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The government has reportedly been preparing closely with the U.S. at the working level so the launch meeting can produce substantive progress rather than remain a courtesy meeting.
Seoul is seeking to advance the security agreements as much as possible during Trump’s term, as nonproliferation concerns remain strong in Washington.
The meeting had initially been expected to take place earlier this year, but was delayed as Washington raised issues related to South Korea’s investment in the U.S. and Coupang, while also focusing on the Iran war and the U.S.-China summit.
Hooker is also expected to discuss other pending issues during her visit.
The State Department said Hooker will discuss a range of bilateral and global issues with South Korean officials to strengthen the alliance, including cooperation in security and economic affairs.
“The U.S.-ROK Alliance remains the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific region,” it said.
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