Korea and the International Atomic Energy Agency hold their 20th safeguards review conference in Jeju from Tuesday to Thursday and conclude a fresh cooperation agreement. The safeguards agreement is a system ensuring nuclear transparency so that all nuclear materials are used for peaceful purposes.
The IAEA already has such agreements with individual nuclear power plants or reprocessing facilities in advanced countries, but Korea will be the first entire country to sign up, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said on Monday.
This means the transparency and reliability of Korea’s nuclear non-proliferation measures have been recognized internationally, which will work in favor of Korean exports of nuclear power plants as well as negotiations with the US, the commission added.
Once the agreement is signed, Korea will be subject to fewer inspections.
Since 1991, Korea and the IAEA have met annually either at IAEA headquarters in Vienna or in Korea to check safety of nuclear materials and facilities here.
Je Mu-sung, a professor of nuclear engineering at Hanyang University, said, “The cooperation treaty with the IAEA will give Korea greater momentum to export nuclear power plants and make it much easier to negotiate with the US so the country can reprocess its own spent nuclear fuel.”
The US does not want Seoul to reprocess its own spent nuclear fuel for fear that the plutonium extracted in the process could be used to make nuclear weapons.
