Implementation of a high level bilateral commission including the United States and South Korea will begin with discussion in Seoul this week, officials in South Korea said.
The commission, led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, will also include about 160 industry experts and policy makers, media reports indicate.
“The two countries have been preparing for the launch of the committee and its first general meeting based on the shared recognition that the successful operation of the committee will be the most crucial factor for achieving the goal of the nuclear energy pact,” the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement released to the press.
Discussions are to include finalizing details on an accord reached in 2015. Reports indicate that the teams will focus on South Korea's ambitions with high-temperature “pyroprocessing” techniques and with expanding its capacities for production of low-enrichment uranium.
South Korea, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), has 25 operating nuclear reactors that provide one-third of the country's electricity. Its highly sophisticated nuclear power industry also exports reactor technology and is currently building four reactors in the United Arab Emirates. Yet is constrained in its fuel cycle options by current treaty commitments.
The country imports 97 percent of its fuel by ship, according the WNA, and one third of the value of South Korean imports in 2011 was comprised of energy imports, about $170 billion worth. Without nuclear power, that sum would have jumped by another $20 billion, according to the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
South Korea is seeking greater latitude in its fuel processing capabilities.