SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - Along with ongoing tariff-related negotiations, South Korea will soon begin talks with the U.S. to revise the bilateral nuclear energy pact, which currently prevents Seoul from reprocessing its spent nuclear fuel, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Thursday.
He made the comments during a radio interview, confirming that some consensus has been reached on revising the decades-long pact and that relevant discussions will take place soon as part of broader security talks.
Cho said Seoul has "strongly" called for the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and enrich uranium, and the U.S. has signaled its willingness to consider the request.
Seoul and Washington first signed the pact in 1974, which details the scope of nuclear technology South Korea can use for civilian purposes. Under the pact, South Korea has been restricted from reprocessing its own spent nuclear fuel rods and enriching uranium for power generation, as Washington fears that South Korea could obtain materials to produce nuclear weapons if allowed.
This is why, after years of revision talks, the U.S. only agreed in 2015 to conduct joint research with South Korea on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods through a process known as pyroprocessing, which does not produce weapons-grade plutonium.
Meanwhile, when asked whether the two countries could finally resolve several contentious issues in trade negotiations in time for next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, he said, "There is no strict deadline," explaining that President Lee Jae Myung has stressed "prioritizing national interests" to reach a deal that should be "commercially rational."
He added, "If these conditions are not met, negotiations may take more time."
Despite difficulties in ironing out the complex aspects of the negotiations such as how to fulfill and fund Seoul's $350 billion investment in the U.S., part of the deal reached last July to lower reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent, Cho pledged to achieve a "win-win" solution for both countries.
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