South Korea Seeks U.S. Approval for Uranium Enrichment to Support Small Reactors

Kim Ji-hoon, deputy head of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Cooperation task force, said Thursday that granting South Korea authority to enrich uranium would serve the shared strategic interests of Seoul and Washington. In a LinkedIn post, Kim said stronger bilateral cooperation on nuclear fuel could address supply constraints facing the emerging small modular reactor 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," he said. The two nations have been holding consultations on Seoul's push to secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities under the 123 Agreement.

President Donald Trump. Kim said high-assay low-enriched uranium, enriched to between 10 and 20 percent uranium-235, enables advanced reactors to use smaller cores, operate longer between refueling and improve fuel efficiency. Commercial supplies of the fuel remain limited and risk becoming a bottleneck to timely SMR deployment, he added.

The nations are discussing ways to expand trusted uranium enrichment and production capabilities while maintaining safety, security, safeguards and nuclear nonproliferation standards, Kim said. South Korea has long argued that greater enrichment authority would build a more resilient nuclear fuel supply chain less dependent on Russia and China.

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation to promote SMR deployment across the Indo-Pacific region during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey.