By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The international nuclear watchdog has concluded that South Korea uses atomic energy for peaceful purposes, and not for any military capability, clearing the way for Seoul to join international efforts to promote the transparent and peaceful use of nuclear technologies, officials said Tuesday.
Through years of inspections of Seoul's nuclear facilities and interviews with researchers and officials involved in nuclear technology development, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the country has not engaged in any questionable nuclear activities.
The conclusion was included in the IAEA's Safeguard Implementation Report for 2007, a document on the nuclear activities of its member nations. The agency's board of governors is expected to adopt the report at its annual meeting in Vienna, Austria, this week.
``The conclusion means the IAEA has officially acknowledged that South Korea uses nuclear technology peacefully and transparently,'' an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. ``The decision will also pave the way for the country to engage in more activities to develop atomic technologies for industrial needs and to strengthen collaboration with other countries.''
Korea generates some 40 percent of its electricity through the use of nuclear power. It faces increasing need to develop technologies amid rising crude oil prices in recent months. Korea is the world's fourth largest importer of crude oil.
The IAEA has looked into Seoul's nuclear program since 2004 following a report that a group of the country's scientists conducted secret experiments and produced a small amount of weapons-grade uranium in 2000.
Seoul denied it was for military purposes and pledged to abide by all IAEA rules on nuclear development. However, the revelation, timed with reports about North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, sparked concerns in the international community about nuclear proliferation.
``All suspicions about the purpose of the research have now been cleared. South Korea is committed to the peaceful use of atomic energy,'' the ministry spokesman said.
South Korea became an IAEA member in 1957 and joined the agency's Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975, which is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.