Problems with USA – South Korea nuclear partnership
Washington, Seoul Seek To Extend Nuclear Partnership, VOA Scott Stearns April 26th, 2013 The United States and South Korea are major partners when it comes to the manufacture and sale of civilian nuclear power equipment. But that partnership, and maybe much more, could come under pressure if the two can’t come up with a broader agreement on licensing nuclear technology.
A big part of the problem, not surprisingly, is North Korea and its already advanced nuclear weapons program…….. http://blogs.voanews.com/state-department-news/2013/04/26/washington-seoul-seek-to-extend-nuclear-partnership/
No agreement between USA and South Korea on enriching uranium
South Korea and U.S. Fail to Reach Deal on Nuclear Energy, NYT, By CHOE SANG-HUN, April 24, 2013 SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the Obama administration delayed the deadline for a deal that Seoul had hoped would allow it to begin making its own fuel for its civil nuclear energy program, but that the United States feared would undermine its attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. It had appeared that a deal might be reached this year, but officials in both countries said the deadline would slip until 2016.
The government of President Park Geun-hye has been pushing hard for the United States to lift a ban, part of a treaty signed in 1972, that prevents South Korea from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.
But the same technologies are also used to make material for nuclear weapons. American officials have said that lifting the ban would have complicated diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear programs and to stop any attempt by Iran to develop atomic weapons….. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/asia/south-korea-and-us-fail-to-reach-nuclear-energy-deal.html
US nuclear-capable B-2 bombers in exercises with South Korea
US nuclear-capable bombers complete training mission in South Korea The Guardian, 28 March 2013 US military announces B-2 stealth bomber drills amid threats of nuclear strikes from North Korea The US has taken the unprecedented step of publicly announcing that two of its nuclear-capable B-2 bombers have taken part in military exercises with South Korea, dropping dummy munitions on an island range, in what is taken to be a show of force following weeks of North Korean hostility.
The announcement on Thursday is likely to further enrage Pyongyang, which has already issued a flood of ominous statements to highlight its displeasure at the exercises and at UN sanctions over its nuclear test last month. Continue reading
Conflict of interest, safety fears, in South Korea’s nuclear power plans
“The Republic of Korea is going to be the only country across the globe where regulators and basically developers or promoters might be working all together under the same roof,” said Suh Kune Yull, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University. “A conflict of interest is inevitable.”
Safety concerns cloud South Korea nuclear drive, Japan Times, AFP-JIJI FEB 28, 2013 GORI, SOUTH KOREA – South Korea has big plans to become a major nuclear energy player, but they are unfolding at a time when the global industry is under intense scrutiny after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.And its ambitions have not been helped by a series of domestic scandals and forced reactor shutdowns in 2012 that rattled public confidence and exposed a glaring lack of regulatory transparency.
Around $400 billion is riding on South Korea’s ability to sell its technology to potential clients as it aims to take on the United States, France and Russia and grab a 20 percent share of the nuclear energy market……
A survey commissioned by the Economics Ministry and published in November showed only 35 percent of South Koreans considered nuclear power to be safe — sharply down from 71 percent in January 2010. Continue reading
Park Geun-hye , South Korea’s new President’s challenge to negotiate with North korea
Park warned after the test that North Korea faces international isolation, economic difficulties and, eventually, a collapse if it continues to build its atomic program. She also pressed Pyongyang to respond to her overtures.
“We can’t achieve trust with only one side’s efforts. Isn’t there a saying that ‘We need both hands to make a clapping sound?”‘ she said.
South Korea’s 1st female president faces nuclear crisis CBC News, Park Geun-hye takes office Monday after election vow to soften approach to North Korea The Associated Press Feb 24, 2013 Even before she takes office Monday as South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-hye’s campaign vow to soften Seoul’s current hard-line approach to rival North Korea is being tested by Pyongyang’s recent underground nuclear detonation. Continue reading
Japanese government’s nuclear reprocessing plans likely to be colossal waste of money
But the continued operation of the Monju reactor is uncertain due to
frequent malfunctions. The Japanese government has admitted that it
may not be put into commercial use until 2050, prompting criticism
that the Rokashomura facility was a colossal waste of money.
Japan Could Reprocess Nuclear Fuel from Korea
http://www.energytribune.com/69930/japan-could-reprocess-nuclear-fuel-from-korea-2
January 07, 2013 From Chosun Ilbo The Japanese government is
considering reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods from Korea, Vietnam
and other Asian countries, the Tokyo Shimbun reported Sunday. Japan is
the only country in the world that has no nuclear weapons but the
facilities to reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods capable of producing
weapons-grade plutonium.
An advisory council to the Democratic Party of Japan in a report last
May said reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods would “strengthen”
Japan’s diplomacy, security and the country’s economy as well as
“contribute to the peaceful use of atomic energy.”
The report suggests using the Rokashomura nuclear reprocessing plant
in Aomori Prefecture, which will become obsolete if Japan scraps all
its own nuclear power plants in the 2030s. Continue reading
Business before safety, in nuclear South Korea
The country also hopes to
capitalize on its growing technological expertise, and it has already
exported four nuclear power plants to the United Arab Emirates.
Pursuing Economic Growth, South Korea Accepts The Risks Of Nuclear
Power Generation, International Business Tomes, 3 Jan 2013 It’s a new
year for nuclear energy in South Korea. The government has just
approved the reopening of a shuttered power plant in Yeonggwang
county, which will begin supplying electricity amid official
assurances that safety concerns have been addressed….. a sobering
caveat: Nuclear energy is inherently risky. …… especially
worrisome when South Korea shut down two of its own nuclear plants in
Yeonggwang — which is less than 200 miles from the capital city of
Seoul — in November, after it was revealed that some of the working
parts had quality certificates that had been forged. Continue reading
South Korea’s nuclear power bungles
A Year Of Nuclear Bungles, New Matilda, By Jim Green, 19 Dec 12,“……In South Korea, five engineers were charged with covering up a potentially dangerous power failure at the Kori-I reactor in May. The accident occurred because of a failure to follow safety procedures. The manager of the reactor decided to conceal the incident and to delete records, despite a legal obligation to notify the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.
In early November, the South Korean government shut down two reactors at Yeonggwang to replace thousands of parts that had been supplied with forged quality and safety warranties. Plant owner Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) has acknowledged possible bribery and collusion by KHNP officials as well as corruption by firms supplying reactor parts. In late November there were further revelations and the current total stands at 8601 reactor parts, 10 firms and six reactors. Inadequate and compromised regulation has been a key contributor to the problems in South Korea’s nuclear industry — just as it was a key factor behind the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
South Korea wants to develop uranium enrichment technology (a direct route to nuclear weapons material) in violation of its commitments under the 1992 Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula……. http://newmatilda.com/2012/12/19/year-nuclear-bungles
South Korea keen to sell nukes: must clean up their act
There is a lot at stake for South Korea, which aims to export 80 nuclear reactors by 2030, expected to be worth up to $300 billion, according to government plans.
South Korea urged to restore trust in nuclear Australia Network News Nov 24, 2012 The International Energy Agency (IEA) says South Korea needs to rebuild public trust in nuclear power by boosting transparency and improving regulation, after safety scares have closed reactors and threaten to trigger blackouts over winter. Continue reading
South Korea’s and Japan’s nuclear operators – not to be trusted
Now, South Korea wants to develop uranium enrichment technology in violation of its commitments under the 1992 Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea has no legitimate need for enrichment technology (there is ample global enrichment capacity) and there are serious proliferation concerns as enrichment provides a direct route to nuclear weapons material in the form of highly-enriched uranium…..
Japan’s plutonium program demonstrably fans regional proliferation tensions.
How can we trust nuclear, if we can’t trust its operators? The Punch, by Jim Green 13 DEC “……Widespread safety breaches and proliferation concerns in North Asia are recent manifestations of the problem. In May, fiveengineers were charged with covering up a potentially dangerous power failure at South Korea’s Kori-I reactor which led to a rapid rise in the reactor core temperature. The accident occurred because of a failure to follow safety procedures. A manager decided to conceal theincident and to delete records, despite a legal obligation to notify the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.
In October, authorities temporarily shut down two reactors at separateSouth Korean nuclear plants after system malfunctions. Continue reading
Greenpeace suing South Korea on its silencing of nuclear power critics
Greenpeace files court case to challenge South Korea’s silencing of nuclear criticshttp://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/Greenpeace-files-court-case-to-challenge-South-Koreas-silencing-of-nuclear-critics/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=blog&utm_term=121012_1112&utm_campaign=Climate Greenpeace International and Greenpeace East Asia have launched a legal challenge against the South Korean government seeking a declaration that the government’s prohibiting of key international staff from entering the country was unlawful and anattempt to silence criticism of nuclear policies.
Through the lawsuit, lodged on Monday on international Human Rights Day, Greenpeace is seeking compensation of almost 70 million Korean won for disruption of six staff members’ ability to conduct their campaign about the risks of nuclear energy and for other damages. Continue reading
Nearly 1000 more fake nuclear quality certificates found in South Korea
South Korea finds more nuclear parts with fake documents CNBC, 27 
Nov 2012 | SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean nuclear regulators have discovered nearly a thousand more parts supplied for nuclear power plants with fake quality certificates, Continue reading
South Korea’s ambitions for a nuclear reactor export industry
Lee: Nuclear power plants ‘core staple’ for S. Korea SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) — President Lee Myung-bak said Monday atomic power plants are a key export industry that will help lift South Korea’s growth in the years to come, just as auto, shipbuilding and
electronics industries have powered the country’s economy so far.
Lee also said his latest trip to the United Arab Emirates was aimed at laying the groundwork for South Korea to win another massive nuclear power plant construction order from the oil-rich MiddleEastern nation after the first deal in 2009 to build and operate four reactors……
South Korea’s nuclear regulation, not transparent, not independent
S.Korea says IEA wants its nuclear sector to be more transparent SEOUL Nov 22, 2012 (Reuters) – The International Energy Agency (IEA) wants South Korea to bring more transparency to its nuclear power sector and strengthen the independence of regulators to increase trust in the safety of its plants, the economy ministry said on Friday.
The agency, which advises industrialized nations and represents 28 oil importing countries, was due later on Friday to unveil a report on South Korea’s energy policies for the first time since 2006…..
The South Korean government has been criticised for a lack of transparency over safety in its nuclear programme and for the dual supervisory and promotion roles of its regulators…..
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/iea-korea-idUKL4N0921O420121122
South Korea plans to keep making the stuff- but no idea where to put nuclear wastes!
South Koreans to ponder where to store nuclear waste http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/20/us-nuclear-korea-idUSBRE8AJ0CP20121120 By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL Nov 20, 2012 (Reuters) – South Korea is to hold public consultations on where to store waste nuclear fuel as storage capacity at its reactors is reaching full capacity, the government said on Tuesday.
The plan to set up an independent consultative body comes as South Korea grapples with its worst nuclear crisis ever after forged certificates were used by parts suppliers to the nuclear industry, causing stoppages at two reactors as the bitter Korean winter draws near.
The government has been criticized for a lack of transparency over safety for its nuclear programme and for the dual supervisory and promotion roles of its regulators. Continue reading
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