I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
South Korea signs nuclear energy agreement with South Africa
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Korea signed an agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy with South Africa Friday, completing the necessary procedure to make Korean firms eligible to access the nuclear energy market there.
The announcement came about a month after South Africa announced plans to build more nuclear reactors to cope with soaring demand for electricity.
Shin Kak-soo, acting minister of foreign affairs and trade, met with South African Energy Minister Dupio Peters at the ministry building Friday to sign the accord.
Shin signed on behalf of Kim Sung-hwan, who had not been appointed as foreign minister at the time.
Korea and South Africa clinched the agreement six years after they began working-level talks, and the latter is now the country’s 24th atomic energy partner.
The nations that have signed such an accord with Korea include the United States, Canada, Spain, Australia, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Governments are required to sign a bilateral agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy to enable their firms to access the nuclear energy market in their counterpart nation,” a foreign ministry official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
“As the accord was clinched, Korean energy businesses are eligible to take part in bids to build nuclear power plants in South Africa.”
Currently, South Africa’s nuclear energy accounts for about 5 percent of its entire electricity supply.
The African state plans to increase the nuclear portion to 25 percent by 2025.
In a speech in Johannesburg in September, Minister Peters was quoted as saying that it would be more cost-effective for South Africa to consider a series of nuclear power plants.
Upon taking office in February, 2008, President Lee Myung-bak declared nuclear energy as the country’s new engine of growth.
Experts noted the economic effect of nuclear energy exports is enormous, explaining winning a contract to build two nuclear reactors in a foreign nation has the same economic effect of exporting 320,000 automobiles.
Korea can also reap more earnings as the nuclear power plants projects require infrastructure building in areas of construction, as well as banking and mechanical design, they added.
Analysts said the country’s nuclear energy industry is considered one of the world’s most competitive ones.
The local nuclear energy industry provides nearly 40 percent of the nation’s electricity.
The global competitiveness of Korea’s nuclear energy technology was recognized last December when a Korea Electric Power Corporation-led consortium won a bid to build 1,400-megawatt nuclear reactors in the UAE over its French rival.
The $40 billion deal marked the largest overseas project that Seoul had won so far.
Korea is working closely with India on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. A government official told The Korea Times that the two countries will sign an agreement in the near future.
If the accord is signed, local firms can access the Indian nuclear market which could exceed $150 billion in the coming years. India plans to build 12 nuclear reactors by 2020.
Korea is also seeking to win a contract in Turkey to build a pair of nuclear power plants near the Black Sea. It has agreed to conduct a basic survey for the project there.
This week, the Japanese government and Toshiba Corp. reportedly expressed their interest in taking part in the Turkish project.