Push the nuclear negotiation
Published: 19 Apr. 2013, 21:38
When South Korea signed the pact, it had no nuclear reactor. Korea is now the world’s fifth-largest commercial nuclear power producer, with 23 reactors that generate 35 percent of the country’s electricity. Korea insists it needs freer hands in the spent fuel cycle in order to run its nuclear operations and export a complete package overseas. Starting with the Gori reactor in 2016, current disposal facilities storing nuclear waste will reach the saturated point by 2024. The reactors will have to shut down if the waste is not reprocessed.
Washington’s position is understandable, with U.S. President Barack Obama’s commitment to nonproliferation and creating a world free of nuclear threats. It also may be concerned with the rising voice in South Korea arguing for developing its own nuclear weapons against North Korea’s nuclear threat. But Seoul is firm on its peaceful use of nuclear fuel. Washington does not seem to trust South Korea as much as it reiterates blood-tight relations with Korea are as important as a linchpin, since it does not agree to revising the pact.
Just because the pact has been extended for two years does not assure that the two will narrow their differences. It is merely a makeshift move to avoid a dispute. President Park Geun-hye during her campaign promised to revise the nuclear pact progressively. She must address and resolve the issue during her summit meeting with her U.S. counterpart when she visits Washington next month.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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