(LEAD) S. Korea, India to expand personnel exchanges in nuclear field

(ATTN: ADDS new info)
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and India plan to expand personnel
exchanges in the nuclear field that could help lead to cooperation in the
building of atomic reactors, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the exchange is a
follow-up to a Seoul-New Delhi summit held in India last month, in which the two
countries agreed to facilitate contact between experts and fuel vital information
sharing.
South Korea, which recently secured a deal to build four nuclear reactors for the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), is aiming to become one of the top three exporters in
the field by 2030 and is seeking new markets in such countries as Turkey, Jordan
and India.
South Korea operates 20 commercial reactors and ranks sixth in the world in terms
of overall electric power generation.
The ministry said six engineers from India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC), who arrived in South Korea on Tuesday on a four-day trip, are to attend a
seminar Wednesday in Seoul that will address general atomic energy policies,
safety and research and development efforts.
The Mumbai-based BARC is a state-run institute under India's atomic energy
department and is the country's primary nuclear research body.
"South Korea plans to elaborate on its past experiences in the atomic energy
sector and outline its comprehensive human resources development plan that was
begun in the 1950s," an official here said. He added that the Indian experts are
expected to highlight achievements made by their country in the past. India
operates 17 small reactors.
He also said the Indian officials are expected to visit Doosan Heavy Industry and
Construction Co., which produces the APR1400 reactors, and the Gori nuclear power
plant in Busan, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The visit to the Gori
plant will offer the Indian engineers a first-hand look at the construction of
the APR1400 reactors that are to be built for the UAE.
During their stay in South Korea, the group is expected to meet with counterparts
at state-run companies such as Korea Electric Power Corp., Korea Hydro & Nuclear
Power Co., Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Korea Nuclear Fuel Co.
The ministry, meanwhile, said South Korean experts plan to visit Mumbai to hold
talks with their Indian counterparts early next month.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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