South Korea, US, and Japan Form "Triangular Nuclear Alliance" to Target Global Emerging Markets Together

First Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of South Korea, the United States, and Japan Held on the Sidelines of the 2026 NATO Summit

South Korea, the United States, and Japan have joined forces to jointly enter the global emerging market for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

On the 7th (local time) in Ankara, Turkey, (from left) Cho Hyun, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mark Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, and Toshimitsu Motegi, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, posed for a commemorative photo after signing the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Small Modular Reactors (SMR). Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On July 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that, on July 7 (local time), Minister Chung Hyun attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he held a trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi. During this meeting, the three ministers signed the “Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on SMRs.” The core of the agreement is for the three countries to cooperate in accelerating the deployment of SMRs in the Indo-Pacific region as well as in other countries. Both the U.S. and Japanese diplomatic authorities released statements with the same content.

The memorandum includes support for the construction of multiple SMRs through standardized fleet designs and simplified contracting procedures. Specifically, it covers the formation of consortia between companies from the three countries, securing project financing and capacity building for exporting countries, as well as providing support for technology, fuel, equipment, and services. The three countries are considered to have mutually complementary strengths in the civilian nuclear sector. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this cooperation is expected to lead to mutually beneficial outcomes by mitigating project development risks, achieving economies of scale, promoting private investment, streamlining licensing procedures, and optimizing supply chains.

Furthermore, the signing of this MOC is interpreted as a joint response to Russia and China, which have recently been leading contracts with emerging countries in the global nuclear power plant export market by offering “low-cost package deals.” According to the U.S. Department of State, Secretary Rubio stated at the signing ceremony, “One of the most important issues in the world today is energy security,” emphasizing that the signing of this MOC will strengthen the economies of the three countries in a very safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner. The fact that meaningful outcomes were achieved at the ministerial level is also significant, especially as the trilateral summit was canceled due to the absence of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the NATO Summit.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan also held broad discussions on issues beyond SMRs, including the Korean Peninsula, security cooperation, regional and global affairs, and economic security cooperation. The three ministers agreed to maintain close coordination on North Korea policy, including countering North Korea’s illicit cyber activities, while upholding the principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In addition, they decided to continue cooperation in tackling transnational crime, disaster relief and humanitarian aid, and Arctic cooperation, and to pursue tangible cooperation in advanced technology fields such as nuclear power, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum technology. They also agreed to strengthen supply chain resilience and coordinate responses to economic coercion. The three countries plan to continue frequent communication and cooperation, and to keep producing sector-specific achievements through the trilateral secretariat.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.