hankyoreh

President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea speaks to US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Aug. 25, 2025. (Yonhap)

The South Korean government is pursuing plans to gain the right to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel production through the use of existing regulations in its atomic energy agreement with the US, rather than attempting to amend the agreement, it was confirmed Wednesday. 

Seoul raised the agreement’s amendment as an idea in a bilateral summit earlier this week.

Multiple South Korean government sources reported Wednesday that President Lee Jae Myung broached the matter of atomic energy cooperation at the summit and that US President Donald Trump responded by suggesting discussions on it.

The South Korean government indicated that while it initially pushed plans to amend the nuclear energy agreement, known as a “123 agreement,” the more likely scenario that it is discussing with Washington is one where it would gain the rights to uranium enrichment based on regulations in the existing agreement.

Amending the agreement would require the consent of the US Congress, but with the current agreement remaining in force for another 10 years, Seoul has apparently opted for an indirect approach that takes advantage of regulations stating that uranium enrichment is possible with the US’ consent.

The agreement, which was last amended in 2015, bars uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent fuel. But its Article 11 states that South Korea could enrich uranium to “up to less than twenty percent,” contingent on a written agreement and “consultations undertaken bilaterally through the High Level Bilateral Commission.”

Speaking to the press after the South Korea-US summit on Monday, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said, “There were meaningful discussions between the leaders on atomic energy cooperation, and additional discussions will follow.”

When asked if there had been any concrete progress, Wi remained tight-lipped, saying he could “not discuss the details at present.” Discussions on obtaining the right to enrich uranium have been named as part of the “meaningful discussions” in question.

To achieve its aim, the South Korean government has been focusing on allaying US concerns about nuclear proliferation. It is currently emphasizing the position that discussions are necessary in the interest of “energy strategy,” pointing to the ongoing accumulation of spent nuclear fuel thanks to South Korea’s high dependence on nuclear power, as well as the importance of providing a package that includes fuel cycle technology as a competitive factor in overseas nuclear power plant orders.

At an Aug. 18 plenary session of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun cited nuclear power as an area where South Korea needed to achieve gains through the bilateral summit.

“We are looking for something in terms of industry and the environment,” he said at the time.

By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]