Seoul pushes to revise pact for more efficient use of nuclear energy


Washington appears to have shown some flexibility in its negotiations with Seoul over a revision to a decades-old nuclear energy pact that bans its Asian ally from reprocessing spent fuel.

To more efficiently use nuclear energy, South Korea has pushed to amend the pact in five rounds of bilateral talks until February since 2010. The U.S. has apparently opposed the revision as it can undermine its non-proliferation initiatives.

“As far as I understand, the U.S. position is not that it would never allow Seoul to reprocess (spent fuel),” Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told local media.

“It’s been four decades since the pact was signed. (We) will clarify our demands in due consideration of changes (in Korea’s status in the realm of nuclear energy).”

First signed in 1956 and last revised in 1974, the pact is to expire in March 2014.

Under the agreement, Seoul is required to secure permission for enriching uranium and reprocessing spent fuel ― two critical steps for more efficient use of nuclear energy. But the pact prohibits these procedures as they could lead to the production of weapons-grade fissile materials.

What’s more, the need for the revision comes from the fact that tons of spent fuel have been piling up with storage space running short. Storage capacity for the Kori nuclear power plant is expected to reach its saturation point in 2016.

Amid Seoul’s repeated calls for the revision, the two countries have agreed to conduct joint research on “pyro-processing,” a recycling method that does not produce plutonium, a key ingredient of nuclear bombs.

Experts here have argued that the deal is “unfair” and should be revised to meet the current status of the country that ranks fifth in the world in terms of nuclear power generation.

South Korea now has 22 nuclear reactors in operation with its reliance on atomic energy accounting for some 35 percent of its electricity generation. This is the most in the world after the U.S., France, Japan and Russia whose numbers of nuclear reactors are 104, 58, 50 and 33, respectively.

Some experts say that rather than highlighting the unfairness of the pact, Seoul should establish a strong rationale to convince the U.S. that its use of nuclear power is strictly limited to peaceful, civilian purposes.

Washington may have some doubts over Seoul’s intentions as it had once pursued nuclear weapons in the 1970s. Former President Park Chung-hee secretly pushed to develop nuclear weapons as security concerns rose with Washington seeking to withdraw its troops from the Korean Peninsula.

After Jimmy Carter took office in 1977, his human rights-based foreign policy caused friction in relations with South Korea’s general-turned president who critics argue pushed for the country’s industrialization at the expense of democratic values.

The U.S. also appears to be uneasy about Seoul having once sought to carry out uranium enrichment in the 2000s.

“What is very crucial at this point is that we should convince the U.S. that we will not use nuclear power militarily. Japan has successfully established its position for peaceful use of nuclear power and now has the reprocessing authority,” said Yun Duk-min, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

“Rather than dealing with this issue with the logic that the pact is unfair, we need to entrench a climate for the peaceful use of atomic power. We need to take a cautious approach in the negotiations.”

Despite all obstacles from the pact that hamper Korea’s efficient use of nuclear power, Seoul found it difficult to get too aggressive in its demand for the revision as it heavily relies on the U.S. for nuclear technology, materials and components to run its power plants.

Observers said that though the U.S. could get flexible regarding the reprocessing procedure, it may not allow Seoul to have the uranium enrichment right. Without the right, Seoul has annually spent some 900 billion won ($785 million) for commissioning other states for the enrichment procedure.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)