Korea on Sept. 27 is unanimously elected chair of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors at a board meeting hosted by IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. (Dean Calma / IAEA)

By Jung Joo-ri and Lee Jihae

Korea will chair the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the first time since joining as a charter member in 1957.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on Sept. 27 said the country was unanimously elected the next chair at a board meeting in Vienna, Austria.

Korea as chair will serve a one-year term from this month, with Ambassador to Austria and Slovenia Shin Chae-hyun, who is concurrently Seoul's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, to act as chairperson. 

As the world's leading watchdog for nuclear issues, the IAEA is an independent entity within the United Nations system that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Comprising 35 member states, the board examines and makes recommendations to a board meeting the agency's practical issues such as investigation and verification of safeguards on the nuclear activities of countries including Iran and North Korea, nuclear safety and security, and applications of related technologies. 

The chair presides over the board's five yearly meetings as well as the two annual talks of the two standing committees for program and budget and technical assistance and cooperation. It also holds before the meetings consultations and coordinates with the IAEA Secretariat and the agency's regional and likeminded groups on key issues.

"Korea’s chairmanship of the Board of Governors of the IAEA, which plays a pivotal role in the fields of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, is attributable to the country’s exemplary record in non-proliferation and active contributions to the IAEA in the field," the ministry added.

"As Chair of the IAEA's Board of Governors, the Korean government will expand its involvement in and contributions to key IAEA issues and win stronger support from the international community on the North Korean nuclear issue and for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

etoilejr@korea.kr