New debate ignited over Seoul's right to nuclear reprocessing

washington — 

As North Korea escalates tensions connected the Korean Peninsula, a caller statement has ignited successful Seoul implicit whether South Korea should person the close to reprocess spent atomic substance — a measurement that would let for the extraction of a fissile worldly that tin beryllium utilized to physique atomic weapons.

According to the South Korean Embassy successful Washington, Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong said past Friday that his authorities volition enactment with the caller U.S. medication that volition beryllium inaugurated successful January to fortify atomic cooperation, including a treatment of the request for atomic reprocessing successful South Korea.

Cho was responding to a question posed by 1 of a radical of Korean lawmakers who were visiting the embassy for an yearly parliamentary audit.

The statement comes arsenic North Korea ramps up its atomic weapons programs and saber-rattling rhetoric.

On Thursday, North Korea's authorities media said Pyongyang has "clearly defined South Korea arsenic a hostile country" done a revision of the constitution during a parliamentary gathering past week. Two days earlier, the North blew up the bluish conception of roads that erstwhile linked it with South Korea.

Going atomic

South Korea faces increasing interior calls to make its ain atomic weapons. Some South Koreans reason that their state should astatine slightest person the atomic reprocessing close — conscionable arsenic Japan, different cardinal U.S. state successful the Indo-Pacific portion does — truthful South Korea could beryllium acceptable to physique atomic arms arsenic soon arsenic it decides to bash so.

Nuclear reprocessing refers to the separation of spent atomic reactor substance into perchance reusable atomic materials and different atomic waste. The process helps managing radioactive discarded much sustainably portion extracting plutonium that tin beryllium utilized for atomic weapons.

Under the U.S.-South Korean Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation, signed successful 2015 to regenerate a anterior atomic pact, South Korea's atomic reprocessing is taxable to further dialog with the U.S.

On the different hand, Japan has the close to reprocess spent atomic substance astatine its facilities nether the U.S.-Japan atomic practice agreement.

In a effect to a VOA inquiry, the South Korean Foreign Ministry stressed that Cho's remark reflected the request to travel up with measures to negociate high-level radioactive waste, including spent atomic fuel.

"The South Korean authorities continues to question ways to negociate high-level radioactive discarded specified arsenic spent atomic fuel," a spokesperson for the South Korean Foreign Ministry told VOA's Korean Service via email connected Wednesday.

The spokesperson said securing the close to reprocess spent atomic substance is "an contented that should beryllium cautiously resolved by comprehensively taking into relationship assorted factors specified arsenic sensitivity, successful presumption of atomic nonproliferation and economical feasibility."

"The existent South Korea-U.S. atomic practice statement took effect successful 2015 and is valid until 2035, and we mean to proceed to upgrade peaceful atomic practice betwixt South Korea and the U.S. portion faithfully implementing the agreement," the spokesperson added.

The U.S. stressed that it has a long-standing argumentation to bounds the dispersed of enrichment and reprocessing capabilities astir the world.

"The U.S. strives to beforehand civilian atomic practice globally to beforehand our principles for the highest standards of safety, security, and non-proliferation," a State Department spokesperson said successful an emailed effect connected Thursday to a VOA Korean inquiry.

"The ROK and the United States person maintained a mutually beneficial narration done atomic practice for decades, including our 2 countries having maintained adjacent practice to fulfill our duties successful the planetary assemblage to guarantee the highest levels of safety, non-proliferation and information for the peaceful usage of atomic energy," the spokesperson said. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the country's ceremonial name.

Proliferation concerns

U.S. experts accidental it is highly improbable that Washington volition springiness consent for Seoul to reprocess spent atomic fuel, arsenic that would airs a greater situation to the nonproliferation regime.

"I recognize that South Koreans whitethorn comprehend that it isn't just that the U.S. supported Japan's reprocessing but not South Korea's reprocessing of spent atomic reactor fuel," Toby Dalton, co‑director of the Nuclear Policy Program astatine the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said successful an email Wednesday to VOA Korean.

"However, it is important to recognize that the U.S. agreed to Japanese reprocessing successful the 1970s, astatine a clip erstwhile the U.S. had a argumentation much favorable to reprocessing."

Dalton said the existent U.S. argumentation "does not enactment reprocessing anywhere, mostly due to the fact that of the proliferation risk."

"So, successful the U.S. view, this is little an contented of fairness than of timing — Japan made a petition earlier the U.S. argumentation change," Dalton said. "South Korea's involvement successful reprocessing came overmuch later."

Robert Einhorn, a erstwhile peculiar advisor for nonproliferation and arms power astatine the State Department who is present a elder chap astatine the Brookings Institution, told VOA Korean via email Wednesday, "Some South Koreans are present advocating indigenous reprocessing and uranium enrichment programs, not chiefly for civilian atomic vigor reasons, but to supply an enactment to nutrient the fissile worldly needed for atomic weapons.

"It is understandable that the ROK seeks to fortify deterrence against the increasing North Korean atomic threat, but Seoul and Washington are already pursuing the astir effectual mode of countering that menace — strengthening the U.S.-ROK confederation and reinforcing the U.S. extended atomic deterrent, including by giving South Koreans a overmuch much important relation successful the readying and execution of that deterrent," Einhorn said.

Joseph DeTrani, who served arsenic the peculiar envoy for six-party denuclearization talks with North Korea from 2003 to 2006, told VOA Korean via email Wednesday that reprocessing atomic discarded would bring South Korea a measurement person to being capable to prosecute its ain atomic weapons capability.

That would beryllium "something the U.S. opposes, fixed the likelihood of a atomic arms contention successful the portion if South Korea has atomic weapons," helium said.

"Occasional hints by ROK officials of South Korea's involvement successful processing atomic weapons and the advocacy by immoderate ROK National Assembly members for the ROK to make a latent atomic weapons capableness are astir apt unnerving U.S. policymakers and volition apt stiffen their absorption to allowing reprocessing by the ROK," said Evans Revere, who served arsenic acting U.S. adjunct caput of authorities for East Asian and Pacific affairs, successful an email Wednesday to VOA Korean.