South Korea and the United States will hold a kickoff meeting in Seoul on Tuesday to implement the security agreements reached at their summit, the foreign ministry said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the ministry's headquarters and continue through Wednesday. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker will preside as the chief delegates of their respective sides. Subsequent sector-specific consultations will be led by the national security offices of both governments. A dinner hosted by Vice Minister Park with the U.S. delegation is also scheduled for Tuesday.
The talks are expected to address key agenda items including South Korea's construction of nuclear-powered submarines, securing rights to uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, and cooperation in shipbuilding. Considering the interconnections among the agenda items and the overlap of working-level personnel involved in the consultations, both sides have decided to discuss issues such as nuclear submarines and the revision of the nuclear energy agreement together in one venue rather than at separate locations during the first meeting.
The South Korean side will be represented by a whole-of-government delegation comprising officials from related ministries and agencies, including the National Security Office of the presidential office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Climate and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. The U.S. delegation also comprises officials from relevant agencies, including the White House National Security Council (NSC), the State Department, the Department of Energy, and the Department of War.
The government is reported to have worked closely with the U.S. side at the working level to prepare for substantive progress, even as the start of consultations was delayed by issues such as the pace of Korea's investment in the United States, the war in Iran, and the Coupang case. The U.S. delegation is also reportedly arranging meetings during its visit with senior South Korean diplomatic and security officials, including Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Chung Yeon-doo, head of the Foreign Strategy and Intelligence Headquarters.
