South Korea Nuclear Overview
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Background
This page is part of the South Korea Country Profile.
South Korea first became interested in nuclear technology in the 1950s but did not begin construction of its first power reactor until 1970. [1] Changes in the international security environment influenced South Korea’s decision to begin a nuclear weapons program in the early 1970s. Under significant pressure from the United States, Seoul abandoned the program and signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in April 1975. Section 123 of the 1954 US Atomic Energy Act prohibits indigenous uranium enrichment, reprocessing used fuel, and restricts raw material imports.
In 1981, South Korean engineers produced five test fuel rods using depleted uranium. The fuel rods were placed in a research reactor and irradiated between July and December 1981. The spent fuel rods were removed and scientists conducted experiments in hot-cells to extract 0.3 grams of plutonium. [2] The South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) claimed that this experiment was conducted by “a small group of scientists to analyze the chemical characteristics of plutonium.” [3] These experiments were not revealed to the public until the summer of 2004, after South Korea had ratified the Additional Protocol. Under this modified safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), South Korean nuclear facilities were subject to more detailed inspections. [4] In the summer of 2004, South Korea also reported that its scientists had conducted laser isotope separation experiments to enrich about 0.2 grams of uranium. Both the plutonium extraction and uranium enrichment experiments were in violation of Seoul’s safeguards commitments, but the government cooperated with the IAEA to account for these violations and to ensure there were no future violations. [5] During the June 2008 IAEA Board of Governors meeting, a “broader conclusion” was drawn that all nuclear material in South Korea had been placed under safeguards and remained in peaceful nuclear activities. [6]
In November 1991, President Roh Tae Woo (노태우) declared that South Korea would not “manufacture, possess, store, deploy, or use nuclear weapons.” [7] Two months later, North Korea and South Korea signed the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In this agreement, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed not “to test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons,” and not to “possess nuclear reprocessing and uranium enrichment facilities.” However, both sides failed to implement the agreement’s provisions relating to a bilateral inspection regime. Although North Korea has violated the Joint Declaration, particularly in light of its three nuclear weapons tests (in 2006, 2009, and 2013), South Korea has never officially renounced its obligations under the declaration and has called on the North to abide by the agreement. Seoul has been a participant in the Six-Party Talks, aimed at ending the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, since their inception in 2003.
South Korea has a total of 24 nuclear power reactors in operation and four under construction—ranking fifth in the world in number of reactors. As of 2015, nuclear energy provides approximately one third of its total electricity. [8] Korea plans to complete 11 new nuclear power plants by 2024. The South Korean government previously planned for 41 percent of the nation’s energy supplies to come from nuclear power by 2030, but policies released in January 2014 revised that number to 29 percent of total power supply by 2035. [9] A joint research project by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) is currently underway to develop the 4th generation of nuclear power plants (Gen IV) which will incorporate Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) and Very High Temperature gas-cooled Reactor (VHTR). The goal is to commercialize these technologies by 2030. [10]
South Korea is an exporter of nuclear power technology. In January 2010, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced that it plans to export 80 nuclear power reactors by 2030 which is worth $400 billion. Thus far, South Korea has agreed to a USD $20 billion contract to construct four reactors in the United Arab Emirates, a $173 million contract to construct a nuclear research reactor in Jordan, and a nuclear cooperation agreement to build several reactors in Saudi Arabia worth $2 billion. [11] South Korea’s nuclear industry has also shown keen interest in penetrating into Chinese market which holds significance since China has been known to transfer its nuclear technologies and equipment to Pakistan, which is not a member of the NPT. [12] South Korean nuclear reactors have also faced safety and security issues with forged safety certificates for replacement parts. [13]
Despite South Korea’s extensive nuclear energy infrastructure and technological base, South Korea does not possess any independent means of enrichment or reprocessing. While its legal validity remains ambiguous, South Korea is politically constrained by the 1992 Joint Declaration with North Korea and the 1972 bilateral pact with the U.S. on nuclear cooperation. However, South Korean officials have expressed a keen interest in establishing a closed nuclear fuel cycle toward its goal of overtaking 20 percent of the global nuclear reactor market. [14] Additionally, South Korea’s own reliance on nuclear power is projected to grow, and the problem of mounting spent nuclear fuel is a pressing one. [15] As a country that has one of the highest population density in the world, South Korea’s problem of spent nuclear fuel storage stems from both securing the physical space and the strong domestic opposition from the Koreans who do not want the interim storage site in their neighborhood. Despite objections, low and intermediate-level waste (LILW) is stored at each reactor site with a total of about 60,000 drums of 200 liters. [16] A central disposal facility for low to medium level waste at Gyeongju was completed in June 2014. A recent report from an independent advisory body indicates that South Korea will begin to run out of interim storage space for waste materials beginning in 2016. [17]
Concerns about South Korea’s interest in a form of nuclear fuel recycling called pyroprocessing, and in uranium enrichment technology hampered the renewal of the U.S.-South Korea nuclear cooperation agreement. The agreement, originally set to expire in 2014, was extended until 2016 to allow Washington and Seoul to come to some agreement about South Korea’s interest in enrichment and reprocessing technology. [18] In April 2015, South Korea and the U.S. reached a deal, replacing the 1972 agreement, to lift the ban on reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, as well as uranium enrichment, and reaffirmed the research on pyroprocessing technology. [19] The South Korean Cabinet approved the agreement in June. [20]
Sources:
[1] Ha Yeong-seon, 한반도의 핵무기와 세계질서 [Nuclear Weapons on the Korean Peninsula and World Order] (Seoul: Nanam, 1991).
[2] Daniel A. Pinkston, “South Korea’s Nuclear Experiments,” CNS Research Story, 9 November 2004, www.nonproliferation.org.
[3] Anthony Faiola and Dafna Linzer, “S. Korea Admits Extracting Plutonium,” Washington Post, 10 September 2004, www.washingtonpost.com.
[4] Anthony Faiola and Dafna Linzer, “S. Korea Admits Extracting Plutonium,” Washington Post, 10 September 2004, www.washingtonpost.com.
[5] Mohamed El-Baradei, “Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors,” IAEA, 13 September 2004, www.iaea.org.
[6] “IAEA Confirms S. Korea’s Nuclear Activity Peaceful,” Yonhap, 3 June 2008, in www.lexisnexis.com.
[7] Roh Tae Woo, “President Roh Tae Woo’s Declaration of Non-Nuclear Korean Peninsula Peace Initiatives,” Federation of Atomic Scientists, 8 November 1991, available at www.fas.org.
[8] International Atomic Energy Agency, “Korea, Republic of,” Power Reactor Information System Database, 11 June 2013, http://pris.iaea.org. “Nuclear Power in South Korea,” World Nuclear Association, August 2013, http://world-nuclear.org.
[9] “South Korea Cuts Future Reliance on Nuclear Power, but New Plants Likely,” Reuters, 13 January 2014, www.reuters.com.
[10] “차세대 원자로 개발 [Developing Nuclear Reactors for Future],” Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, June 2012, www.kaeri.re.kr.
[11] “Korean Consortium for Jordan’s First Reactor,” World Nuclear News, 7 December 2009, www.world-nuclear-news.org; “UAE Picks Korea as Nuclear Partner,” World Nuclear News, 29 December 2009, www.world-nuclear-news.org; Jay Solomon and Ahmed Al Omran, “Saudi Nuclear Deal Raises Stakes for Iran Talks,” The Wall Street Journal, 11 March 2015, www.wsj.com.
[12] Fred McGoldrick, “Nuclear Nonproliferation,” in The US-South Korea Alliance: Meeting New Security Challenges, ed. Scott Snyder (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2012).
[13] Meeyoung Cho, “South Korea to Widen Safety Probe on Certificates for Nuclear Reactor Parts,” Reuters, 7 February 2014, www.reuters.com.
[14] Park Seong-won, Miles A. Pomper, and Lawrence Scheinman, “The Domestic and International Politics of Spent Nuclear Fuel in South Korea: Are We Approaching Meltdown?” Korea Economic Institute Academic Paper Series, March 2010, Volume 5, Number 3, p. 4.
[15] “Fuel Cycle Process Development Division,” Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, http://ehome.kaeri.re.kr.
[16] “Nuclear Power in South Korea,” World Nuclear Association, August 2013, http://world-nuclear.org.
[17] MeeYong Cho, “South Korea Running out of spent nuclear fuel storage space – advisory body,” Reuters, 18 August 2014, http://uk.reuters.com.
[18] Hou Qiang, ed., “S. Korea, U.S. to Extend Nuclear Pact for Another 2 Years,” Xinhua English News, 24 April 2013, http://news.xinhuanet.com; Mark E. Manyin, Mary Beth D. Nikitin, Emma Chanlett-Avery, William H. Cooper, Ian E. Rinehart, “U.S. – South Korean Relations,” Congressional Research Service, 24 June 2014, www.crs.gov.
[19] Jack Kim, “South Korea, U.S. Reach Deal to Revise Civil Nuclear Pact,” Reuters, 22 April 2015, www.reuters.com.
[20] “S. Korean Cabinet OKs Nuclear Deal with U.S.,” Yonhap News Agency, 8 June 2015, http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr.
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Glossary
- Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
- The NPT: Signed in 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the most widely adhered-to international security agreement. The “three pillars” of the NPT are nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Article VI of the NPT commits states possessing nuclear weapons to negotiate in good faith toward halting the arms race and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. The Treaty stipulates that non-nuclear-weapon states will not seek to acquire nuclear weapons, and will accept International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on their nuclear activities, while nuclear weapon states commit not to transfer nuclear weapons to other states. All states have a right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and should assist one another in its development. The NPT provides for conferences of member states to review treaty implementation at five-year intervals. Initially of a 25-year duration, the NPT was extended indefinitely in 1995. For additional information, see the NPT.
- Atomic Energy Act of 1954
- Atomic Energy Act of 1954: A piece of legislation that governs the development, utilization, and disposal of U.S. nuclear materials and facilities, as well as U.S. nuclear cooperation with other countries. See also the entry for Nuclear Cooperation (Section123) Agreement.
- Enriched uranium
- Enriched uranium: Uranium with an increased concentration of the isotope U-235, relative to natural uranium. Natural uranium contains 0.7 percent U-235, whereas nuclear weapons typically require uranium enriched to very high levels (see the definitions for “highly enriched uranium” and “weapons-grade”). Nuclear power plant fuel typically uses uranium enriched to 3 to 5 percent U-235, material that is not sufficiently enriched to be used for nuclear weapons.
- Reprocessing
- Reprocessing: The chemical treatment of spent nuclear fuel to separate the remaining usable plutonium and uranium for re-fabrication into fuel, or alternatively, to extract the plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.
- Uranium
- Uranium is a metal with the atomic number 92. See entries for enriched uranium, low enriched uranium, and highly enriched uranium.
- Research reactor
- Research reactor: Small fission reactors designed to produce neutrons for a variety of purposes, including scientific research, training, and medical isotope production. Unlike commercial power reactors, they are not designed to generate power.
- Irradiate
- Irradiate: To expose to some form of radiation.
- Spent nuclear fuel
- Spent nuclear fuel: Irradiated nuclear fuel. Once irradiated, nuclear fuel is highly radioactive and extremely physically hot, necessitating special remote handling. Fuel is considered “self protecting” if it is sufficiently radioactive that those who might seek to divert it would not be able to handle it directly without suffering acute radiation exposure.
- Ratification
- Ratification: The implementation of the formal process established by a country to legally bind its government to a treaty, such as approval by a parliament. In the United States, treaty ratification requires approval by the president after he or she has received the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. Following ratification, a country submits the requisite legal instrument to the treaty’s depository governments Procedures to ratify a treaty follow its signature.
See entries for Entry into force and Signature. - Additional Protocol
- The Additional Protocol is a legal document granting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) complementary inspection authority to that provided in underlying safeguards agreements. The principal aim is to enable the IAEA inspectorate to provide assurance about both declared and possible undeclared activities. Under the Protocol, the IAEA is granted expanded rights of access to information and sites, as well as additional authority to use the most advanced technologies during the verification process. See entry for Information Circular 540.
- Safeguards
- Safeguards: A system of accounting, containment, surveillance, and inspections aimed at verifying that states are in compliance with their treaty obligations concerning the supply, manufacture, and use of civil nuclear materials. The term frequently refers to the safeguards systems maintained by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in all nuclear facilities in non-nuclear weapon state parties to the NPT. IAEA safeguards aim to detect the diversion of a significant quantity of nuclear material in a timely manner. However, the term can also refer to, for example, a bilateral agreement between a supplier state and an importer state on the use of a certain nuclear technology.
See entries for Full-scope safeguards, information-driven safeguards, Information Circular 66, and Information Circular 153. - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- IAEA: Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization in the United Nations system. The Agency’s mandate is the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, technical assistance in this area, and verification that nuclear materials and technology stay in peaceful use. Article III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA. The IAEA consists of three principal organs: the General Conference (of member states); the Board of Governors; and the Secretariat. For additional information, see the IAEA.
- Isotope
- Isotope: Any two or more forms of an element having identical or very closely related chemical properties and the same atomic number (the same number of protons in their nuclei), but different atomic weights or mass numbers (a different number of neutrons in their nuclei). Uranium-238 and uranium-235 are isotopes of uranium.
- Deployment
- The positioning of military forces – conventional and/or nuclear – in conjunction with military planning.
- Bilateral
- Bilateral: Negotiations, arrangements, agreements, or treaties that affect or are between two parties—and generally two countries.
- Nuclear power plant
- Nuclear power plant: A facility that generates electricity using a nuclear reactor as its heat source to provide steam to a turbine generator.
- Nuclear energy
- Nuclear energy: The energy liberated by a nuclear reaction (fission or fusion), or by radioactive decay.