The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted on the 17th regarding the inclusion of South Korea in the United States Department of Energy's list of sensitive countries that "the security-related issues concerning the research institute under the Department of Energy are the reason," and emphasized that "it is not an issue of foreign policy."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced to the press corps that "as a result of contact with the U.S. side, this has been confirmed." The ministry also emphasized that it confirmed, "Even if South Korea is included in the list of sensitive countries, there will be no significant impact on technological cooperation such as joint research between South Korea and the United States."
It was added that "the government is actively consulting with relevant U.S. government agencies to ensure that there is no negative impact on scientific and technological cooperation and energy cooperation between South Korea and the United States" and that "there is a precedent where South Korea was excluded from the sensitive country list of the U.S. Department of Energy through negotiations with the U.S. side after being included in the past."
According to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and others, South Korea was also included in the DOE's list of sensitive countries in the 1980s and 1990s. There was a request for correction from the South Korean side at the first Korea-U.S. Joint Committee on Science and Technology in 1993, and subsequently, due to changes in domestic and international circumstances, South Korea was removed from the sensitive country list in July 1994.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of Energy stated on the 15th (local time) that it placed South Korea on the list of sensitive countries around January of this year. Countries designated as sensitive by the U.S. Department of Energy up until last year include 25 countries such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. South Korea was added as the 26th country early this year.
The U.S. Department of Energy designates sensitive countries for reasons such as national and economic security threats, nuclear nonproliferation, regional instability, and terrorism. However, the reason for including South Korea in the list of sensitive countries has not been disclosed. The designation of South Korea as a sensitive country by the U.S. will take effect on the 15th of next month.