The Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan on the 7th (local time) signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) to introduce small modular reactors (SMRs) to countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that on this day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu in Ankara, Türkiye, on the occasion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit, and “discussed issues related to the Korean Peninsula, security cooperation, regional and global developments, and economic security cooperation,” announcing the conclusion of the MOC.

The U.S. Department of State described the MOC as “an opportunity for the three countries, each of which has its own strengths in the civil nuclear power sector, to encourage mutually beneficial cooperation among their respective nuclear industries,” adding that “this cooperative framework aims to reduce project development risk, achieve economies of scale, facilitate private investment, and streamline licensing procedures.”

The foreign ministers of the three countries also shared their assessments of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The three ministers agreed to maintain close coordination on North Korea policy, including responses to North Korea’s illicit cyber activities,” and that “while upholding the principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, they will continue efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy.”

The ministry further reported that they “reaffirmed that economic security cooperation is an important pillar of trilateral cooperation among the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan.” It added, “Building on progress made to date in areas such as nuclear power, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum technology, the three ministers agreed to further deepen practical cooperation in the future.”

Popular News