Republic of Korea and U.S. have provisional agreement on nuclear cooperation

The U.S. and the Republic of Korea reached a memorandum of understanding on principles concerning nuclear exports and cooperation on Friday Nov. 1, DOE said Monday.

According to an agency press release, the countries as of Monday had yet to complete their final review of the memorandum of understanding (MOU). 

According to DOE’s release, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea committed to combating climate change and accelerating global energy transitions while “promoting the expansion of peaceful nuclear energy while upholding the highest standards of nonproliferation, safety, safeguards, and security.” 

“Toward this end, the parties strengthened their administration of export controls on civil nuclear technology,” according to DOE’s release.

The U.S. and the Republic of Korea signed a 123 agreement in June 2015. All 123 agreements, designed to establish peaceful nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and approved partner nations, are hashed out and overseen by the State Department with input from the Department of Energy, its quasi-independent National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.