Foreign Minister Cho Hyun announced on March 6 that a South Korean delegation plans to visit the United States to discuss rights for uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing. This follows delays due to the Middle East war and stems from security cooperation agreed upon after last year's summit between Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump. The talks aim to adjust the existing civil nuclear agreement.
On March 6, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun stated during a plenary session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee that a South Korean negotiating team will travel to Washington for follow-up consultations on bilateral security agreements with the United States, including cooperation on potential adjustments to their civil nuclear energy pact.
Cho explained, "The outbreak of war in the Middle East made further delays unavoidable." He added, "After close consultations with the U.S. side, we agreed that our team would go to the United States first." Originally, a U.S. delegation was scheduled to visit South Korea earlier this year, postponed first to February and then to early or mid-March, but escalating tensions in the Middle East led to a format change.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that this is not the full negotiating delegation for the broader security package, which includes issues like nuclear-powered submarines. Instead, it is a working-level team led by Ambassador Rim Kap-soo, focusing on consultations with a bilateral task force on uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing under the civil nuclear framework. "Officials from both sides are maintaining close communication, and we are currently coordinating the specific dates," the ministry said. The visit will involve preliminary exchanges of views to prepare for formal negotiations.
These consultations originate from a joint fact sheet released in November following a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Gyeongju. The fact sheet committed to expanding cooperation in advanced defense capabilities and peaceful nuclear energy use, including establishing working-level consultations on nuclear propulsion and the future of the Korea-U.S. civil nuclear agreement. It also planned a bilateral task force to enhance cooperation on spent fuel management and potential adjustments to restrictions on uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
The current Korea-U.S. civil nuclear agreement, in force since 2015, governs peaceful nuclear energy use and requires U.S. consent for South Korea to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel, upholding global nonproliferation norms while supporting one of the world's largest civilian nuclear programs. In recent years, calls in South Korea for greater flexibility have grown, driven by efforts to expand the nuclear energy industry and address threats from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Cho confirmed no U.S. request for South Korean support in military actions against Iran and declined to comment on speculation about U.S. Forces Korea deployments to the Middle East. "I am not in a position to confirm details regarding the operational deployment of the USFK," he said. "What I can say is that we are making sure that the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture remains unaffected."
