Seoul is considering a taskforce to deal with a renegotiation of the Atomic Energy Agreement with the U.S. that would enable South Korea to expand nuclear activities. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Monday said the taskforce could be led by the Foreign Ministry's special ambassador for energy and resources "in cooperation with other government agencies concerned."
Yu was speaking in the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee. "The government will make preparations to begin negotiations in the second half of this year for the purpose of getting the maximum peaceful and commercial use of atomic power reflected in the agreement."
| Just another subtle signal that if China can't curb its dog, the SKors reserve the right to go nuclear. |
Seoul wants to revise the bilateral atomic energy pact, which expires in 2014, so it can at least reprocess its own spent nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes.
Yu said the two countries will discuss ways of reprocessing, including so-called pyro-processing at a high temperature. Unlike the more common wet reprocessing technology, pyro-reprocessing, also known as a dry recycling, offers nearly zero possibility of nuclear arms use given that it makes it difficult to extract pure plutonium. |