Minister Choi Tae-yeol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized on the 24th that the inclusion of South Korea in the list of sensitive countries designated by the U.S. Department of Energy is not a diplomatic issue but rather a security-related concern regarding the research institute under the Department of Energy.
On that day, Minister Choi said this during a briefing on the agenda at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee meeting related to the designation of sensitive countries.
Minister Choi also noted that according to U.S. sources, South Korea falls into the lowest category of 'other designated countries' which corresponds to the third grade of the list, stating, 'This is fundamentally different from grades one and two focused on non-proliferation and anti-terrorism.'
In response to a query from lawmaker Kim Jun-hyung of the Justice Party, who said, 'I have never seen ratings based on sensitivity,' Minister Choi stated, 'I mentioned this based on U.S. explanations.'
He further explained, 'The U.S. Department of Energy described this designation as a measure taken in the process of reviewing and reinforcing overall technology security due to the emergence of new scientific and technological advances changing the technological landscape.'
'In response to a question from an opposition lawmaker asking why the U.S. would designate a country as sensitive for what is merely a security incident,' he added, 'It is my understanding that there were several security issues, and this action was taken based on judgments made by U.S. officials regarding those issues,' noting, 'The change in the technological landscape prompted the need for an overall review, and U.S. explanations state that this measure was taken during that process.' He further explained that with the expansion of emerging technologies, various forms of scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries have significantly increased, necessitating a review of technology security and decisions within the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance security measures.
He emphasized, 'This is not merely a security incident; there are issues arising from the process of technology security that the U.S. deemed to have implications, which is why such measures were taken,' adding, 'Working through this in consultation with us is what we need to do moving forward.'
The decision to designate sensitive countries was made in early January, and Minister Choi emphasized that the government became aware of this late because the list is created confidentially for a very small number of targets. He mentioned, 'The list was created and managed by the U.S. Department of Energy on a basis of confidentiality, and I believe only a few personnel in the technical security related departments were aware of it internally.'
Minister Choi also emphasized that there would be no restrictions on scientific and technological cooperation even if designated as a sensitive country. He said, 'If listed, the Department of Energy would review the process of confirming identity information for individuals visiting its 17 subordinate research institutes.' However, he added, 'Even if designated, the Department of Energy explained that there are no new restrictions on scientific and technological cooperation such as joint research between South Korea and the U.S.,' and noted that consistent messages affirming that the cooperation and partnership between the U.S. and South Korea remain solid were also received from the Department of Energy, the State Department, and the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House.