S. Korea aims to win more nuclear reactor deals this year: official

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is aiming to win more nuclear reactors
deals this year as part of its plan to become one of the top three atomic energy
powers in the world by 2030, a senior government official said Friday.

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan said in a local cable TV talk show
that Seoul is eyeing a second and possibly a third contract similar to one signed
with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) late last year.
The US$20 billion deal made the country, which started to use nuclear power in
1978, the world's sixth exporter of commercial nuclear reactors.
Seoul said earlier in the week that it hopes to secure deals for 10 overseas
reactors abroad by 2012 and 20 percent of all new orders by 2030, which would
allow the country to share the global market with the United States and France.
"After the UAE sale, many countries have shown interest in South Korea's nuclear
capabilities," he claimed.
He declined to go into details, but said that both Turkey and Jordan are
interested in building nuclear power plants to generate electricity in the face
of fluctuating fossil fuel prices and growing concerns about global warming.
The official added that India has shown interest, along with such countries like
Finland, Vietnam and Poland.
The minister in charge of the country's industrial and energy policies added that
there may be a need to build an independent nuclear regulatory committee to take
charge of atomic safety-related issues.
At present, nuclear energy polices in the country are controlled by the Knowledge
Economy Ministry and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. There
have been talks to unify the administrative oversight role under a single body.
Choi also said that Seoul is monitoring the progress of a military trainer jet
deal reached between the UAE and Italy early last year.
"The Middle East country selected Italy's M-346 as the primary negotiation
partner, yet they have continued to express interest in the South Korean T-50,"
the minister claimed, hinting that South Korea may try to bid again for the deal
if the original contract falls through.
The jet trainer deal is estimated to be worth over $1 billion and calls for
building close to 50 advanced trainer jets.
The T-50 built by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. is capable of supersonic
speeds, but costs more than the sub-sonic M-346 made by Italy's Alenia Aermacchi.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)

Delete & Prev | Delete & Next
Mov