hankyoreh

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun speaks to the Hankyoreh from his office in Seoul on Sept. 19, 2025. (Baek So-ah/Hankyoreh)

 
At their summit in August, South Korea and the US came to a preliminary agreement to ease restrictions on South Korea’s enrichment of uranium and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun said on Friday.

Cho also explained that this agreement on South Korea’s use of nuclear technology would be included in the text of a final agreement to be drafted once the two sides have concluded their tariff negotiations.

In an interview with the Hankyoreh that took place on Friday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex in Seoul’s Jongno District, Cho stressed the “significant strides” that had been made between the two sides as they drafted the text of a summit agreement, particular in regard to the “agreement on a basic direction that would also allow South Korea to pursue [uranium] enrichment and [spent nuclear fuel] reprocessing.”

Cho further stated that language related to the relaxation of restrictions on South Korea’s nuclear use would be included in a final agreement text to be drafted after the negotiations are concluded.

The nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries, amended in 2015, prohibits Korea from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and permits uranium enrichment only up to 20%. Even that level of enrichment is subject to a provision requiring Korea to first receive consent from the US. 

Cho further said that Korea was “currently negotiating” the specifics of the defense spending increase with the US, such as timeline and scale, saying that he expects there to be a “basic outline” by the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be held in the Korean city of Gyeongju at the end of October.
 
On the issue of expanding the strategic flexibility of the US Forces Korea, Cho noted the fear felt by many that South Korea could be dragged into a war if US troops in the country become involved in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, but suggested that such fears are “unwarranted.”

Regarding tariff negotiations with the US, Cho suggested that slow and steady wins the race. 

“The agreement made between Japan and the US contains some clauses that may prove to be problematic down the line,” the foreign minister said. “We’ll keep working [toward a better deal] while keeping our country’s interests the foremost priority, even if that means the process is slow.” 

By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter; Park Min-hee, senior staff writer

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