63rd IAEA General Conference
◦ Date : Sept. 16-20, 2019
◦ Venue : IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria
Keynote Speech by First Vice Minister of Science and ICT Mun Mi-ock
Ministry of Science and ICT
【 Opening Remarks 】
I would like to congratulate
Madam President
on her election to serve as president
at the 63rd General Conference of the IAEA.
I also offer sincere greetings
to Acting Director General
Cornel FERUTA.
and distinguished delegates.
And on behalf of the government of
the Republic of Korea
I extend deep condolences
on the passing away of the late Director General, Yukiya AMANO.
【 Fukushima NPP Contaminated Water 】
Madam President,
Article three of the IAEA Statute states
that the Agency is authorized
to establish or adopt standards of safety
for protection of health
and minimization of danger
to life and property
in order to keep the objective of the IAEA.
In accordance with this function, the IAEA,
in cooperation with Japan,
after the Fukushima accident,
invested extensive efforts
in safety management
especially by implementing
the Vienna Declaration.
The Korean government
highly appreciates these efforts.
However, issues concerning
the disposal of Fukushima contaminated water still remain unanswered,
escalating fear and anxiety
throughout the world.
In the meantime,
high-level Japanese government officials recently started to state
that marine discharges are inevitable
as a way to deal with
Fukushima contaminated water.
In case when it is discharged into ocean,
management of Fukushima contaminated water
is no longer Japan's domestic problem
but a grave international issue
that can affect
the whole global marine environment.
As the IAEA has been playing
an active role, in cooperation with Japan,
in dealing with the Fukushima accident,
the same approach is needed for
the disposal of Fukushima contaminated water.
It is necessary to carry out
on-site investigations on the current status of the Fukushima plants
and its contaminated water,
as well as the impact on ecological system
in objective and scientific ways.
Based on the findings,
it is important to set up
standards and methods for the disposal of Fukushima contaminated water.
This adheres to IAEA's radiation protection principles of justification and optimization.
They must not burden the future generation
and be deemed safe
by the international community.
What we need the most
is that Japan should take substantive and transparent measures and actions.
This should be done for health, safety
and environment protection.
【 Denuclearization of North Korea and Safety Measures 】
Madam President,
Korea fully supports
the IAEA's objective of ensuring
that nuclear power is not used
for any military purpose,
and urges that this same principle
be applied to the North Korean nuclear issue.
On June 30th, this year,
the leaders of North Korea and the U.S.
held hands while standing
on the Military Demarcation Line
of the Korean Peninsula,
and agreed on resuming talks
between North Korea and the U.S.
The Korean government is making
great efforts for complete denuclearization
and the establishment of a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
We urge that North Korea
demonstrate consistent effort and will toward denuclearization.
We also ask for full support for this cause
from the IAEA, member states
and the international community.
【 Safety / Decommissioning 】
Madam President,
To maximize safety for nuclear power plants that will be operated
for more than sixty years in Korea,
we established comprehensive plan
to strengthen nuclear safety standards
and take the lead in carrying out
the IAEA's Vienna Declaration.
Korea also promotes
nuclear safety innovation projects
utilizing ICT technologies like big data,
networking and artificial intelligence.
In response to the rising demand
for nuclear decommissioning,
we plan to actively acquire and develop related technologies.
We hope to seek close cooperation
in this endeavor
with the IAEA and member states.
【 Korea's contribution to international society 】
Madam President,
Korea's Advanced Power Reactor 1400
has international recognition
by earning certification
from the European Utility Requirements (EUR),
followed by the US NRC's Design Certification.
We successfully completed
the Pre-Project Engineering for SMART
in partnership with Saudi Arabia
and commercialization comes closer at hand.
Korea is dedicated
to sharing our technology
in reactor design, construction and management
as well as our successful experiences
in commercialization.
Madam President,
We make extrabudgetary contributions
to the IAEA's Peaceful Uses Initiative (PUI)
to help fund various cooperative projects
including ReNuAL Plus and PACT.
*ReNuAL : the Renovtion of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories
**PACT : the Program of Action for Cancer Therapy
In addition,
our research reactor, HANARO,
designated this year
as an International Centre
on Research Reactors (ICERR),
and a new research reactor for RI supply
will greatly contribute to its utilization.
【 Closing remarks 】
Madam President and delegates,
Our most immediate responsibility
is to ensure that nuclear energy contributes to bringing peace and prosperity to mankind with safety.
For this,
I ask all member states
to work together for the protection
of human lives and the environment
and for the preservation
of the non-proliferation regime.
Korea will also take the lead in these efforts,
together with the IAEA and member states.
Thank you.