Korea needs to reprocess nuclear fuel: KHNP official

Korea needs to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to make better use of fissile resources and deal with mounting atomic waste problems, a senior official at a state-run energy company said Tuesday.

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) official, who wished to remain anonymous, said there is consensus within the company that Seoul should reprocess its nuclear fuel.

"We have the knowhow to safely reprocess used fuel," the source said, without elaborating. He stressed that the ability to re-use fuel can help the country reduce its dependence on importing nuclear material from abroad.

"Although any action will depend on the outcome of ongoing negotiations (with the United States), reprocessing can also give the country some breathing room to cope with rapidly shrinking storage capacity for spent fuel that is expected to reach its limit in 2-3 years," the official claimed.

The KHNP official's stance comes as Seoul and Washington have engaged in talks since late 2010 to rewrite the 1974 nuclear agreement, which prevents Korea from enriching uranium and re-using spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear plants. Enriched uranium can be used again to generate electricity.

The pact that expires in March 2014 has forced Asia's fourth-largest economy to import more fissile materials to power its 22 nuclear reactors, and is pressuring policymakers to come up with a viable option of handling space shortages in its domestic holding facilities. Maximum capacity of holding sites, usually located next to the nuclear reactors, is expected to be reached in 2016.

The United States, meanwhile, has been reluctant to allow South Korea to reprocess spent fuel because such materials can be made into nuclear weapons material quickly and pose complications for its global non-proliferation policies.(Yonhap)