Energy Deputy Secretary Brouillette hosts US-ROK High Level Bilateral Commission

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette hosted Friday the Republic of Korea (ROK) Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun for the plenary meeting of the U.S.-ROK High Level Bilateral Commission (HLBC).

The meeting was the second plenary meeting of the HLBC since its creation in 2016. At the meeting, Brouillette and Cho discussed and agreed on future joint technical activities related to the management of spent nuclear fuel, reliability in the nuclear fuel market, exports and export control cooperation, nuclear security and non-proliferation.

“I was honored to host Vice Foreign Minister Cho today to continue discussions and the close, decades-long relationship between the U.S. and the ROK in the area of civil nuclear energy,” Brouillette said. “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 ROK in these matters.”

Senior U.S. officials from the Department of Energy, the Department of State, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Security Council participated in the meeting. The ROK 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 meeting established the new bilateral “Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.” Under to the terms of the 2015 U.S.-ROK Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, the HLBC is a formal mechanism for senior U.S. and ROK officials to discuss issues related to the civil nuclear relationship.