South Korea Votes to Enrich Uranium on Its Own Soil Under New US Nuclear Agreement

SEOUL — South Korea’s National Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a revised nuclear energy agreement with the United States that will allow Seoul to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel on Korean soil for the first time — a provision that civilian nuclear experts say could shorten South Korea’s pathway to a nuclear weapon by several years.

The vote, 248 to 37 in the 300-member parliament, was met with applause from ruling party lawmakers who argued the agreement was essential for South Korea’s energy security and its indigenous nuclear programme. Opposition parties had demanded the provision be removed, arguing it represented a dangerous step toward nuclear proliferation on the Korean Peninsula at a time of heightened tension with North Korea.

Under the original 1974 nuclear cooperation agreement, South Korea was prohibited from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel on its territory — all such activities were required to take place on US soil. The revised agreement, negotiated over 18 months, removes those restrictions and allows South Korea to develop a full domestic nuclear fuel cycle. The US will retain oversight rights and must approve any transfer of reprocessed material to third parties.

President Yoon Suk-yeol welcomed the vote as “a historic milestone in our sovereign energy rights.” A presidential spokesperson said the agreement would allow South Korea to reduce its dependence on imported nuclear fuel and develop advanced reactor technology for export. The Yoon administration has made nuclear energy expansion a centrepiece of its energy policy, reversing a post-Fukushima de-nuclearisation drive under the previous government.

North Korea immediately denounced the vote. A spokesperson for Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said the agreement was “a flagrant violation of the spirit of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a deliberate act of nuclear proliferation in Northeast Asia.” The statement warned that North Korea would “take all necessary measures to ensure its security” in response to what it called a US-backed attempt to create a “nuclear alliance” in the region.

China’s foreign ministry expressed “serious concern” and called on the US and South Korea to “honour their international obligations and refrain from actions that could destabilise the region.” The statement reflected Beijing’s long-standing opposition to any expansion of nuclear capabilities among US allies in Asia.

International atomic energy inspectors from the IAEA will be granted expanded access to South Korean nuclear facilities under the revised agreement, though critics say the inspection regime is insufficient to detect covert weapons-related activities. The US has provided similar guarantees to Japan under their nuclear cooperation agreement, though Japan has not exercised its right to enrich or reprocess.

Sources: Yonhap, Reuters, AP, BBC, The Korea Herald, JoongAng Ilbo, RFA, NK News, IAEA, South Korea National Assembly

Written by Kenji Tanaka, Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief