"South Korea-U.S. Talks on Nuclear-Powered Submarines and Nuclear Energy Were Successful"... MOFA Seeks Follow-up Agreement at Next Meeting

[Financial News] After the first face-to-face working-level talks between South Korea and the United States on a South Korean nuclear-powered submarine and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing ended without any specific agreement, questions are being raised about the outcome of the meeting. MOFA said there were some results, but it has not disclosed any concrete details. The talks were held during the June 3 Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections, drawing less public attention.
A MOFA official said on the 4th that the follow-up meeting on nuclear cooperation, which was agreed in the joint explanatory document from the South Korea–United States summit held in Seoul on the 2nd and 3rd, was "successful." MOFA also said Hooker, who visited South Korea, expressed the same view on her social network service (SNS).
The official said, "This meeting is significant in that follow-up consultations to implement the agreements reached by the leaders of South Korea and the United States have now begun in earnest." The official added that the meeting took place in a very good atmosphere and that productive, substantive discussions were held.
MOFA said both sides agreed to work together to produce tangible results as quickly as possible through the consultations. They also decided to establish a system to review progress throughout the year and to accelerate future talks.
To speed up the consultations, the two sides plan to stay in frequent contact and meet through various channels. The timing of the next meeting is currently being coordinated between the two sides, MOFA said.
However, the official said, "It is difficult to provide details related to the negotiations," adding only that "substantive discussions were held." The official also reiterated that the two sides exchanged broad views on issues related to the development of a nuclear-powered submarine and on enrichment and reprocessing.
The next South Korea-U.S. meeting is expected to be held soon. When it takes place, the two sides will discuss more advanced issues based on the results of this meeting, MOFA said.
rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter