First Step Toward "Nuclear Sovereignty": Government Launches Interagency TF for U.S. Negotiations on Enrichment and Reprocessing

First Meeting at Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 9
Ambassador Lim Gapsoo Appointed as Government Representative

On January 9, the government will officially launch the "Korea-U.S. Interagency Consultative Body on Nuclear Cooperation." This task force (TF) will be responsible for negotiations with the United States to expand South Korea’s authority over uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, as discussed at the Korea-U.S. summit in November last year.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first meeting of the interagency TF will be held at 10 a.m. at the Seoul Government Complex. Ambassador Lim Gapsoo, who previously served as a nonproliferation expert at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has been appointed as the government representative. The TF includes officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, among other relevant agencies.

Since the first Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement was signed in 1974, South Korea’s enrichment and reprocessing technologies have been subject to U.S. restrictions for over 50 years. If South Korea gains autonomous authority over enrichment and reprocessing as agreed between the two heads of state, it would carry historic significance in terms of securing so-called "nuclear sovereignty."

However, persuading and negotiating with hardline nonproliferation advocates, including those in the U.S. Department of Energy, is expected to be a significant challenge. The government plans to accelerate the process by emphasizing both the legitimacy of South Korea, as a nuclear power plant exporter, securing a complete nuclear fuel cycle from processing to reprocessing, and the fact that this is an agreement reached between the two leaders.