U.S. Official Mentions Possibility of South Korea-U.S. Cooperation on Enrichment and Reprocessing
Published
A U.S. government official said that the two countries have the potential and possibility to cooperate on the issues of uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing in South Korea. The remark is interpreted as showing a positive stance from the United States on a matter regarded as an important issue in South Korea's nuclear energy policy.
Enrichment and reprocessing refer to the process of producing nuclear fuel and the process of reprocessing nuclear fuel after its use has ended. South Korea is a country with a high share of nuclear power generation, but under the current South Korea-U.S. nuclear agreement, it is not free to carry out enrichment and reprocessing. For this reason, calls within South Korea to expand authority over these technologies have continued for a long time.
Specific reactions from the South Korean government and related industries to this remark have not yet been fully disclosed. Experts are paying attention to whether this discussion will lead to actual negotiations and under what conditions cooperation might take place. In particular, since nonproliferation and safety issues must be considered together, the bilateral consultation process is expected to become important going forward.
Because this matter could directly affect South Korea's energy security and the future of its nuclear industry, it will be necessary to keep watching what positions the two governments announce and what follow-up discussions they carry out.
Sources: 한겨레
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