US opposes South Korea’s attempts to use pyro-processing for nuclear power

Posted on : 2012-07-25 12:13 KST Modified on : 2012-07-25 12:13 KST
Seoul seeking to reprocess spent fuel to solve storage dilemma
 White House National Security Council coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction policy
White House National Security Council coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction policy

By Kwon Tae-ho, Washington correspondent

South Korea is currently claiming the right to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel to solve the problem of storing spent fuel, but the US is opposed, saying this could hurt international nuclear non-proliferation.

White House National Security Council coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction policy Gary Saymore mentioned Seoul’s interest in pyro-processing while meeting journalists after a bilateral meeting to discuss the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and future steps.

Saymore noted South Korea’s highly developed nuclear power industry, but also said it could purchase enriched uranium from the United States or France.

Currently, South Korea imports 20% to 30% of the uranium used in its nuclear power plants from the United States, and the rest from Europe.

Saymore said Washington saw no need for South Korea to use highly enriched uranium for civilian energy generation.

South Korea produces around 700 tons a year of spent nuclear fuel as waste from the power generation process. This waste must be kept in temporary storage facilities on the plant sit according to the terms of an agreement with the US. To address this issue, it is working on plans for applying the new technique of “pyro-processing” to process spent fuel, which would dramatically reduce the amount of radioactive waste without giving cause for concerns about plutonium extraction. The South Korean government claims this is only the recycling of spent fuel, not the development of pure plutonium for nuclear weapons.

But the US opposes this, stating that pyro-processing could also be used to extract plutonium.

Signed in 1974, the two countries’ nuclear energy agreement will be in effect until 2014. Currently, Washington and Seoul are in discussions on amending its terms prior to then.

Saymore said a resolution would be reached before 2014. He added that officials in Washington and Seoul are currently working to maintain the two countries’ peaceful cooperation on the matter of nuclear energy.

 

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