SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - South Korea wants to take its homegrown nuclear expertise to sea. The challenge is turning decades of civilian reactor development into a power source that can operate safely and reliably inside a submarine. The country has an established nuclear industry and several small modular reactor (SMR) designs. But a reactor intended to supply electricity on land faces a different assignment beneath the waves, where space is tight, crews live nearby and maintenanc
SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - South Korea has secured more than 90 percent of its planned import of crude oil in November and December, easing worries over supply disruptions caused by the lingering conflict in the Middle East, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on Tuesday. During a daily press briefing in Seoul, the ministry also said the country has secured enough naphtha, a key raw material used to make plastics and other petrochemical products, to cover more than 10
SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has broken off construction contract talks with a consortium of Daewoo E&C and Doosan Enerbility for the Czech Republic's Dukovany nuclear project, the state-run operator said Thursday. The talks collapsed over differences on key contract terms, KHNP said in an explanatory note. "KHNP and the contractor have made efforts to reach an amicable agreement through working-level talks, a dispute coordination committ
SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South Korea will seek to turn its reactor manufacturing and construction prowess into a global production base for nuclear power, the science ministry said Tuesday, as the country hosted an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ministerial conference for the first time. Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, who chairs the meeting in Songdo, Incheon, also pledged to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) safely and to shore up public
SEOUL, October 24 (AJP) — Global oil prices surged to nearly six-month highs Friday as attacks on Saudi Arabia and mounting shipping risks around the Gulf deepened supply fears, adding fresh pressure to South Korea's inflation outlook. Brent crude futures settled at $116.72 a barrel, up $3.55, or 3.14 percent, their highest close since April 29. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.80, or 3.8 percent, to $103.27 a barrel. Brent gained 6 percent for the week
SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - SK earthon, the energy resources development arm of SK Innovation, has begun oil production at an offshore block in Viet Nam, about two years after full-scale development began, it said on Tuesday. According to SK innovation's subsidiary, Murphy Oil, the U.S.-based operator of Block 15-1/05, began its first oil production at the Golden Camel structure in late September, ahead of schedule, expanding the company's production base in the Southeast Asia
SEOUL, October 07 (AJP) - Hanwha’s AI-based energy management system has been named to Fast Company’s 2026 “Next Big Things in Tech” list in the Applied AI category, the company said Tuesday. Energy Fluo™, developed by TransGrid Energy, a subsidiary of Hanwha FutureProof, uses artificial intelligence to monitor power infrastructure, energy storage systems, cooling equipment and IT systems in real time and help operators optimize energy use. Accordin
SEOUL, October 01 (AJP) - South Korea today ranks fifth in nuclear power capacity and belongs to a select group of countries capable of designing and building their own reactors. Its journey began with Kori 1, which entered commercial service in 1978 with the help of Westinghouse Electric Company. The pupil has learned well enough to become its American teacher's partner. A South Korea-U.S. investment framework unveiled Thursday would bring Korean-designed reactors to America, n
SEOUL, September 22 (AJP) - South Korea is ready to transfer $2.2 billion this month to help fund a gas-fired power project in Texas once U.S. President Donald Trump gives the go-ahead, the Korean industry minister said Tuesday. The $22.3 billion project would be the first under Seoul’s $200 billion investment pledge to Washington. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources briefed the National Assembly’s trade and industry committee on three candidate projects u
SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - South Korea's battery industry, groomed to build on the EV boom, is hurriedly moving to ride a new power "golden goose" — data centers — anchored in the United States' drive to catch up with China in AI infrastructure. "Let data reign," U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed Monday. "The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards
