South Korea and U.S. Hold Nuclear Cooperation Talks in Seoul

South Korean officials on Thursday described this week's nuclear cooperation consultations with the United States as a success. The two countries launched discussions to implement security agreements reached by their leaders last year. The two sides held the meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Seoul.

They discussed cooperation on South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and secure civil uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities. South Korea's foreign ministry assessed the consultations as a success. A ministry spokesperson said the meeting proceeded in an excellent atmosphere and that productive and substantive discussions took place.

Both sides agreed to cooperate to derive substantive outcomes as soon as possible. They decided to establish a framework to review achievements throughout the year and agreed to accelerate future consultations. The State Department said the two sides agreed to pursue tangible outcomes from their nuclear cooperation initiatives.

The department said both sides committed to work toward delivering tangible outcomes as quickly as possible. The meeting was held to make progress on nuclear cooperation initiatives included in bilateral agreements on security, trade and investment adopted after a summit between the South Korean president and U.S. President Donald Trump in late October.

A U.S. official shared a similar assessment on social media. The official wrote that initial discussions on U.S.-ROK nuclear cooperation were a success and set the stage for continued technical conversations. The official added that other issues were discussed, including ensuring the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, strengthening critical supply chains and countering regional threats.