Seoul, March 17 (IANS) The United States has placed South Korea in the lowest tier of its ‘sensitive’ country list due to security concerns related to government-affiliated research institutes, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The ministry provided the clarification following discussions with US officials, days after the US Department of Energy confirmed South Korea was included in the lowest category of its “sensitive and other designated countries list” in early January under the previous Joe Biden administration.
The US designation was “attributable to the security concerns related to the research institutes affiliated with the Department of Energy, rather than diplomatic policy issues”, the Foreign Ministry said in a press notice.
“Even if South Korea is listed, the US side has confirmed that it will have little impact on bilateral technology cooperation, including joint research between South Korea and the US,” the ministry said.
The explanation suggests that the country was placed on the monitoring list after some South Korean researchers were found to have violated security regulations during their visits or joint research at DOE-affiliated institutes.
The Seoul government vowed to make diplomatic efforts with the US side to remove South Korea from the list before it takes effect on April 15, Yonhap news agency reported.
“The government is actively consulting with relevant US agencies to ensure that South Korea-US cooperation in science, technology and energy is not negatively affected, and will continue efforts to resolve the issue,” the ministry said.
According to the US Government Accountability Office report reviewed by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea was previously listed on the DOE’s sensitive country list in the 1980s and 1990s.
The designation was lifted in July 1994 following Seoul’s request for removal during the first South Korea-US Joint Committee on Science and Technology the previous year, reflecting changes in the domestic and international environment.
–IANS
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