Diplomatic sources said that discussions are underway on nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries, and that it may be discussed at next week’s summit.
could resolve the issues it faces by actively participating in the US’ efforts and supporting its attempts to revitalize its nuclear energy industry,” Jun said.
Given that the agreement is set to remain valid for another decade, it is uncertain whether the US government will agree to an amendment. The US also designated South Korea as a “sensitive country” earlier this year after many South Korean politicians, primarily those in the People Power Party, started to publicly call for nuclear armament.
Some say that, in these circumstances, hasty attempts to revise the agreement could do more harm than good.
“We need to be very aware of our own situation and the US’ position and carefully craft a variety of plans of action that have been coordinated across departments,” said Lee Chun-geun, a visiting senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning.
“If we’re not careful, there could be international repercussions that seriously hurt our nuclear power industry,” he said.