S Korea, US extend nuclear pact

The U.S. and South Korea are extending for two years their current civilian nuclear agreement and postponing a contentious decision on whether Seoul will be allowed to reprocess spent fuel as it seeks to expand its atomic energy industry. The current pact, signed in 1974, had been due to expire next year.

South Korea is the world’s fifth-largest nuclear energy producer and is planning to expand domestic use of nuclear power and exports of nuclear reactors. South Korea argues that it needs to produce its own nuclear fuel to feed the 23 reactors that provide one-third of its energy needs and to deplete stockpiles of spent fuel rods which it says are reaching full capacity. 

The United States has refused on proliferation grounds, as reprocessing creates stockpiles of separated plutonium that can then be enriched to weapons-grade. South Korea has proposed pyro-processing, a new technique which is considered less conducive to proliferation as it leaves separated plutonium mixed with safer fissile materials.

The issue of allowing South Korea to produce its own nuclear fuel has become more vexed in the light of North Korea's advancing nuclear weapons programme. This has led to growing calls from an influential minority in South Korea for the country to have its own deterrent, rather than to keep relying on the US nuclear umbrella.

The extension was agreed to allow more negotiations on the heated topic of allowing the South to reprocess spent fuel rods.