hankyoreh

Amending the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning the Civil Use of Atomic Energy with the United States has become a pressing issue for South Korea. With the current agreement scheduled to expire in March 2014, the amendment would have to be changed within the first half of the year, since the US Congress needs time to sign off on any changes.

But if it remains unamended, South Korea will have trouble securing a stable supply of nuclear fuel and its nuclear power exports could be damaged. At the moment, we import all of the nuclear fuel used in our power plants, 20% to 30% of which comes from the US. Meanwhile, most of the countries that we want to export our nuclear power models to, including Turkey and Vietnam, cannot import it without US consent according to the terms of their bilateral agreements with the US.

Despite all of this, the current agreement has failed to reflect the changing times and developing technologies. Back when it was originally signed in 1974, South Korea was building its very first commercial reactor at Kori. Now, we rank fifth in the world for nuclear power, with 23 reactors up and running. We are also trying hard to export our reactor models to countries around the world, following a landmark deal with the United Arab Emirates. The government plans to bring the number of reactors up to 34 by 2024. Meanwhile, international norms on non-proliferation have become much more stringent. The disaster in Japan two years ago has led to heightened perceptions of the need for safety. New changes to the agreement to suit the new situation have become inevitable.

But matters were complicated by North Korea’s recent nuclear test, its third. The US has responded sensitively to calls from some quarters in South Korea demanding the right to reprocess spent fuel and enrich uranium. Its fear is that we may be trying to get our hands on our own deterrent against North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

It is certainly understandable at an emotional level that South Koreans would feel the need to counter the North Korean nuclear threats. But these demands are helpful in no way - not to the national interest, not to the zeitgeist, not to a favorable amendment of the agreement. As head of the worldwide non-proliferation regime, the US is not likely to grant South Korea a unique exception. Some have pointed to the fact that Japan is allowed to reprocess fuel, but it obtained the right to do so long before non-proliferation rules were as stern as they are today.

The biggest question South Korea faces when it comes to nuclear power is how to upgrade from a house with a traditional toilet to one with a modern plumbing system that can get rid of stored up waste. By 2016, our power plant storage facilities are going to be almost overflowing with spent fuel. Obviously, the best course of action is to abandon nuclear power as an energy source. But even if we work with the power plants we have today, we need to be working now to build new storage facilities and reduce the amount of spent fuel. The ones calling for South Korea to arm itself with nuclear weapons are just getting in the way of that.

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