The negotiating team seeking to secure authority for South Korea to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel is pushing a plan to visit the United States. With the start of security discussions with the United States delayed due to the recent situation in the Middle East, they aim to go to the United States first to maintain momentum in the negotiations.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 8th, the task force (TF) led by Im Gap-su, the government representative for ROK-U.S. nuclear cooperation, is coordinating schedules with the U.S. side to visit around mid-month. The TF was formed under the ROK-U.S. Joint Fact Sheet in November last year to consult with the United States on ways for South Korea to secure authority over enrichment and reprocessing.

During this trip, the TF is expected to meet officials from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy who handle nuclear cooperation. However, this does not mean the TF and the U.S. side will begin full-fledged negotiations on securing authority over enrichment and reprocessing. They are expected to confirm the commitment to implement the fact sheet agreements and exchange views on matters such as the schedule for the U.S. negotiating team to visit South Korea. An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “When our side visits the United States, a preliminary exchange of views to prepare for the main negotiations is planned.”

The TF is pushing a U.S. visit because the start of consultations with the United States has kept being postponed. Earlier, South Korea and the United States sought to begin negotiations in January on enrichment and reprocessing, securing nuclear-powered submarines for South Korea, and shipbuilding cooperation. A U.S. working-level delegation covering these three areas was to visit South Korea. However, after the United States expressed dissatisfaction over delays in South Korea's investment in the United States, the start of negotiations was postponed. Although they then coordinated a schedule targeting late February to early or mid-March, it was delayed again due to the recent armed clash between the United States and Iran. Cho Hyun, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said at a plenary session of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly on the 6th, “Because war broke out, another delay has become inevitable.” In this situation, the government seeks to prevent the loss of momentum in the negotiations by having the nuclear cooperation TF visit the United States first.

Michael Disombre, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, is scheduled to visit South Korea this week to meet with Jeong Ui-hye, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others. The implementation of the ROK-U.S. fact sheet is also expected to be addressed on this occasion. The two sides are likely to discuss various pending issues, including policy toward North Korea.