Author: Lisa Donohoe

South Korea’s ability to improve its economy is a domestic, not international, issue. The US-ROK cooperation is a bilateral—between two parties—issue.

The impact of one nation’s nuclear energy program on the global community depends on that nation’s ability to secure its facilities and materials and maintain safety standards. Moreover, no nation has a solution to the 250,000 tons of nuclear waste in the world. As demand for energy increases, more nations are looking to nuclear energy, but not all nations can afford the infrastructure to ensure safety and security. Consequently any agreement for nuclear technology has global implications.

Succeed: To achieve a desired aim, goal or result. Secede: To withdraw formally from an alliance, federation, or association

To succeed: to achieve success. Successor is a bit different; it means one that follows. Successive means following (e.g., successive letters come one after the other).

The US is not doubtful of South Korea’s peaceful intentions. It is more concerned with maintaining international nonproliferation norms. However, South Korea shares the peninsula with an unfriendly nuclear power (North Korea), and changing geopolitics can influence the decision-making on nuclear technology.

Should South Korea begin developing a pyroprocessing capability, it would not only raise concerns about the production of plutonium, but it would also violate the Joint Declaration of South and North Korea on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Under this joint declaration, “the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) agree not to test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy, or use nuclear weapons; to use nuclear energy solely for peaceful purposes; and not to possess facilities for nuclear reprocessing and uranium enrichment.” The US fears that South Korea’s violation of this agreement would signal a green light for North Korea to continue pursuing its nuclear weapons program.

The ROK has very practical reasons for pursuing pyroprocessing, including the need to reduce the amount of waste it produces. It is also interested in boosting its economy by becoming the third-largest supplier in the global nuclear market and in meeting the increasing energy needs of its population. At this time South Korea is not considering a nuclear weapons program, and that is not one of the US’s top concerns. The US is more concerned that an ROK pyroprocessing capability would weaken international nonproliferation standards and norms and provide encouragement for North Korea to continue its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Although the current U.S.-ROK nuclear agreement does not allow South Korea to reprocess spent fuel, current negotiations include a joint study of ways to deal with South Korea’s spent fuel challenge, including an analysis of pyroprocessing. The technology-sharing agreement is important for moving forward on the overall nuclear cooperation deal.