S. Korea added to U.S. Sensitive Countries List, raising cooperation concerns

Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min.

The country is hoping to better understand the U.S.' decision to designate South Korea as a "sensitive" country shortly before the Biden administration left office in January.

The focus is on what this could mean for the allies' cooperation in technology.

Kim Jung-sil has our top story.

South Korea, a key U.S. ally, has been added to the U.S. Energy Department's Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List, expanding it to 26, alongside North Korea, China, Russia and Iran.

The designation allows the U.S. to impose restrictions on science and technology cooperation.

While South Korea is in the lowest tier as "Other Designated Countries," it remains the only U.S. ally with a formal defense treaty.

Although current cooperation is assured, future research and technology sharing will face heightened scrutiny.

The U.S. decision, made in January, follows South Korean President Yoon's controversial martial law declaration in December, which experts suggest may have influenced the move.

"Due to South Korea's serious domestic political turmoil at the time, the U.S. placed it in the lowest category, 'Other Designated Countries,' on the SCL."

The U.S. list cites concerns over national security, nuclear nonproliferation, and terrorism, leading some experts in Seoul to believe that growing discussions on South Korea's nuclear self-reliance may have also influenced the designation.

"I think one of the main reasons is, you know, political upheaval that has been going on in South Korea, but more importantly (discussions around) acquiring our own nuclear weapons capability."

The government was caught off guard, with no prior notification.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok led an emergency meeting on Monday, stressing the need for active communication with Washington to avoid disrupting cooperation.

The minister of trade, industry and energy has been instructed to engage with his U.S. counterpart this week.

Experts suggest that once South Korea resolves its domestic political turmoil, it could be removed from the list.

"Once the Constitutional Court's decision on the impeachment is announced, the political turmoil in South Korea will be resolved. In that case, there would be no reason for the Trump administration to keep South Korea on this list."

Seoul is actively engaging with Washington to resolve the issue before the designation takes effect on April 15th.

Kim Jung-sil, Arirang News.