IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Monday in Vienna that South Korea's planned nuclear-powered submarine program should not raise proliferation concerns, given a solid safeguards arrangement with the agency.
Grossi noted that Seoul and the IAEA have already begun discussions, though they remain at a preliminary stage due to the lack of specific details on the program. He said countries party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty must notify the IAEA and conclude a special arrangement to build nuclear-powered submarines. The main technical challenge, he said, is ensuring accountability for nuclear material loaded into submarines that can operate underwater for extended periods outside routine inspection. Technical ways must be found so that the amount of uranium that left harbor matches the amount upon return, a process that will take a long time. Seoul plans to launch the first nuclear-powered submarine in the mid-2030s and bring it into operational service before 2040. The effort follows a summit last October between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.
