South Korea and the US have agreed to pursue a separate agreement to formalize Seoul’s right to build nuclear-powered submarines, and working-level talks will begin early next year, the Asian country’s national security adviser said Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after visiting Washington, Wi Sung-lac said he discussed the issue and other security arrangements with senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
His trip was aimed at accelerating the implementation of commitments outlined in a joint fact sheet released after a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump in October, including cooperation on enriched uranium, spent-fuel reprocessing and nuclear-powered submarines.
“We agreed that a separate agreement is necessary for nuclear submarine cooperation and decided to pursue it,” Wi said at a briefing.
South Korea is seeking to equip submarines with a reactor using low-enriched fuel at levels of 20% or less, and has no plans to adopt highly enriched uranium, he said, adding that he had highlighted Lee’s commitment to non-proliferation.
A working-level US delegation is likely to visit Seoul early next year to follow up on the agreements listed in the joint fact sheet, and both sides will set some milestones for performance reviews later next year, Wi said.
South Korea is largely banned from enriching uranium under a civilian nuclear energy deal with the US. Wi has said Seoul was looking at Australia’s case where it had obtained an exemption through a standalone accord with Washington, allowing Canberra to sign an Aukus accord with the US and UK in 2021.
Seoul’s defense minister has said he aims to conclude negotiations with the US within two years on securing an arrangement for the supply of nuclear fuel.
Wi also said he and his US counterparts explored ways to revive talks with North Korea possibly around the first half of next year, though he wasn’t targeting specific diplomatic occasions.
“We are considering various opportunities and won’t rule out any in order to engage with North Korea. I won’t go into specifics, but if there are any opportunities next year, we would try to utilize them,” he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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