▲ 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. (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-nuclear energy

Greater enrichment authority for S. Korea will bolster U.S. SMR industry, strengthen energy security: official

By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- Granting South Korea greater authority to enrich uranium would serve the shared strategic interests of Seoul and Washington by helping expand the U.S. small modular reactor (SMR) industry and strengthen energy security, a foreign ministry official has said.

Kim Ji-hoon, deputy head of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Cooperation task force, made the remarks in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday, noting that stronger bilateral cooperation on nuclear fuel could help address supply constraints facing the emerging SMR industry.

"If South Korea and the United States successfully reach an agreement that allows Seoul to secure civilian uranium enrichment capabilities, it would help ensure a stable and reliable supply of enriched uranium for peaceful nuclear uses," Kim said.

The two nations have been holding consultations on Seoul's push to secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities, areas that remain subject to restrictions under their bilateral nuclear cooperation framework, known as the 123 Agreement.

The issues are among the key agenda items being discussed as part of follow-up consultations stemming from the joint fact sheet adopted after last year's summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kim pointed to the limited availability of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a type of nuclear fuel required by SMRs currently under development and many other advanced reactor designs.

"HALEU, enriched to between 10 and 20 percent uranium-235, enables advanced reactors to use smaller cores, operate longer between refueling and improve fuel efficiency," Kim said. "But commercial supplies remain limited and could become a bottleneck to the timely deployment of SMRs."

Under the circumstances, the two nations are discussing ways to expand "trusted uranium enrichment and production capabilities while maintaining the highest standards of safety, security, safeguards and nuclear nonproliferation," he said.

South Korea has long argued that greater enrichment authority would allow Seoul and Washington to build a more resilient nuclear fuel supply chain less dependent on Russia and China while supporting the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies.

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) aimed at promoting cooperation on the deployment of SMRs across the Indo-Pacific region.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]