Korea, US agree to cooperate on nuclear reactor exports

Representatives of South Korea and the United States agreed to seek nuclear reactor exports at high level bilateral talks in Washington on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

At the second meeting of the High Level Bilateral Commission, the two sides agreed to check the progress of a joint survey on the world’s nuclear reactor market and seek ways to export nuclear reactors to a third country.

Led by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, the two allies were also briefed on joint projects by the commission’s working groups on spent fuel management, assured fuel supply, the promotion of nuclear exports and nuclear security.

The commission was established as part of the bilateral civil atomic energy cooperation accord revised in 2015.

The two sides also agreed to bolster joint efforts on international nuclear security through a set of initiatives including minimizing the use of highly enriched uranium for research reactors.

The third round of meetings as well as a workshop of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism will be held in Seoul next year, the ministry said.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)