▲ South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (R), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi pose with a memorandum of understanding on small modular reactors during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit, in Ankara, Turkey on July 7, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-Japan pact

S. Korea, U.S., Japan sign MOU for cooperation on small modular reactor deployments

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a framework for trilateral cooperation on accelerating small modular reactor (SMR) deployments in other countries in the Indo-Pacific, the State Department said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi inked the MOU on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey.

"The MOU outlines opportunities for our three countries, which have complementary advantages in the civil nuclear field, to encourage mutually beneficial cooperation among their respective nuclear industries," the department said in a media note.

"This framework aims to foster fleet deployment models that de-risk project development, achieve economies of scale, catalyze private investment, streamline licensing processes, and optimize supply chains," it added.

The department stressed that a coordinated trilateral approach on the matter positions South Korean, U.S. and Japanese firms to provide regional partners with more competitive alternatives to meet their growing energy demands and to uphold the "highest" standards of nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation.

To support the initiative, the U.S. is committing more than $10 million in new funding for a State Department program to provide technical support to Indo-Pacific countries for the deployment of safe, secure and reliable nuclear energy, according to the department.

"Funds will advance SMR project development activities and establish an SMR regional training hub for workforce development," it said.

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