PLENARY MEETING OF THE NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP
SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, 23–24 JUNE 2016
The twenty-sixth Plenary Meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), chaired by Ambassador Song Young-wan of the Republic of Korea, was held in Seoul, Korea, on 23 and 24 June 2016.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Yun Byung-se, welcomed the Participating Governments on behalf of the Korean Government, reaffirmed his country’s strong support for NSG activities and noted the significant contribution of the NSG to global efforts to counter ever evolving nuclear threats, thus substantially reinforcing the spirit and purposes of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The Foreign Minister also highlighted the importance of the thorough implementation of UNSCR 2270(2016) for the resolution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear issue and asked the NSG to continue its efforts to cut off the DPRK’s access to its nuclear program’s supply chain.
Within the framework of the NSG’s mandate, the Group expressed its concerns regarding continued global proliferation activities and reaffirmed its determination to continue to cooperate closely in order to deter, hinder and prevent the transfer of controlled items or technology that could contribute to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Participating Governments reiterated their firm support for the full, complete and effective implementation of the NPT as thecornerstone of the international non-proliferation regime.
Deploring the nuclear test conducted on 6 January 2016 by the DPRK, the Participating Governments reconfirmed their commitment to UNSCRs 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013) and 2270 (2016) which strongly condemned the DPRK’s challenge to the nuclear non-proliferation regime and underlined that export of all controlled items within the NSG to the DPRK is prohibited according to the abovementioned resolutions.
The NSG welcomed the announcement on 16 January 2016 of the Implementation Day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Following up on the Extraordinary Plenary held on 21 January and 26 April this year, the NSG expressed interest in continuing to be briefed by the Procurement Working Group coordinator on the procurement channel established under the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231 (2015) as appropriate. The NSG agreed to keep this under active consideration.
Participating Governments called upon all States to exercise vigilance and to ensure effective implementation of all UNSCRsrelevant to the work and purposes of the NSG.
The NSG had discussions on the issue of “Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of the Participation of non-NPT States in the NSG” and decided to continue its discussion.
At the Plenary meeting, the NSG also
• maintained its focus on technical issues important to the implementation of the Control Lists by exchanging views and agreeing on a number of proposals to clarify and update the NSG Control Lists and Guidelines;
• discussed and reaffirmed
• the importance of balancing confidentiality withtransparency in NSG activities; and
• the significance of updating the NSG Guidelines to keep pace with the evolving global security landscape and a fast-paced nuclear and nuclear-related industry.
Outreach
• welcomed the growing number of States that have harmonized their national export control systems with the NSG Guidelines and Control lists;
• discussed options for enhancing outreach such as
• dedicated briefings for and meetings with interested non-NSG partners on the work of the Group;
• increased visibility of the NSG at appropriate international meetings to improve public awareness about the work and mission of the Group; and
• a dedicated response to non-NSG partners seeking assistance and practical experience in developing, updating, strengthening and implementing national export control systems; and
• shared information on all aspects of the 2008 Statement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation with India and discussed the NSG relationship with India.
