South Korean Ambassador Ham Sang-Wook elected President of the 68th IAEA General Conference

The 68th General Assembly, the highest policy-making body of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), opened in Vienna, the capital of Austria, on the 16th.
Ham Sang-ok, who is also the ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the DPRK to the International Organizations in Vienna, was elected as the new chair. Ham will chair the conference, which will run from the 16th to the 20th, and will be the world's
The meeting will cover important security-related topics. The North Korean nuclear issue, Ukraine's nuclear safety, nuclear security, the Iranian nuclear issue, the Middle East issue, and the US-UK-Australia security framework will be the main topics.
Global security issues, including cooperation on the AUKUS nuclear submarine, are expected to be major topics of discussion.
In his acceptance speech, Ham said, "To advance the path to peace, development and prosperity,
"I will work to promote the special contribution that each country can make. To that end, I will play my role as Chairman of the General Conference," he said. The IAEA General Conference is the world's highest policy forum, attended by more than 3,000 representatives from 178 countries.
It is the decision-making body that determines and recommends agenda items for the Council, adopts resolutions, elects member states, approves the budget, and considers annual reports.
This is the second time that South Korea has chaired the General Conference since joining the IAEA as a founding member in 1957.
The previous chairman at the 33rd General Meeting in 1989 was Dr. Jeong Geun-mo of the Korea Science Foundation.
South Korea also chaired the 2021-2022 IAEA Board of Governors meeting.
This year, he was elected president of the General Assembly and chaired two of the IAEA's major policy-making bodies.
"We believe this is a reflection of our leadership and status at the IAEA as one of the six largest countries with power export capabilities."