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Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk on the 18th. Gyeongju = Yonhap News
Energy assistance to North Korea, including the construction of nuclear power plants, is not a new story. This is because North Korea, which suffers from a chronic power shortage, has requested compensation for all major denuclearization talks in the past. There was a time when an international organization was created to promote the construction of a light-water reactor-type nuclear power plant, but it ended in failure as the basic premise of North Korea’s nuclear abandonment was not met.
Construction of the ‘Geneva Accord’ light water reactor that was destroyed by North Korea’s second nuclear crisis
It was during the Kim Young-sam administration that construction began on the ‘Korean nuclear power plant’ in North Korea. After North Korea’s declaration of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1993, the two countries at the negotiating table agreed to resolve the nuclear issue the following year in Geneva, Germany. North Korea was said to build two 1 million kW class light water reactors in exchange for freezing and dismantling its nuclear facilities. To implement this, Korea, the United States, and Japan established the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) in 1995 and began construction of a light-water reactor in Sinpo, South Hamgyeong province.
However, the North Korea nuclear power plant construction project was halted in 2002, when about 30% of the process was underway, when North Korea’s uranium enrichment problem emerged. As there was no progress in the six-party talks that followed, the KEDO Executive Board decided to terminate the project in December 2003. It is known that among the recently controversial documents removed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, it is known which include the ‘Light Water Reactor White Paper’ and ‘KEDO Related Experienced People List’. It is possible to speculate that a review of the North Korean nuclear power plant experience would have been conducted within the government during this period.
President Moon Jae-in and President Kim Jong-un are listening to the agreement after signing the Pyongyang Joint Declaration on September 19, 2018 at the guesthouse in Baekhwawon, Pyongyang. Pyongyang Photographic Foundation
Kim Jong-un also emphasized nuclear energy … “Secret proposal of the Russian government” reported
Since then, energy support has continued to be on the table as an important agenda even in the process of repeated numerous agreements and abolitions on North Korea’s nuclear program. As a result, in the Joint Declaration of September 19, 2005, “North Korea has declared that it has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the parties expressed respect. It included discussions on the issue of providing North Korea with light water reactors at the right time. ”The February 13, 2007 agreement also came as the countries involved in the six-party talks decided to support heavy oil for Korea. North.
Even in the Kim Jong-un era, the construction of nuclear power plants is still considered one of the living bargaining cards. North Korean State Council Chairman Kim Jong-un expressed his willingness to develop nuclear power plants, saying: “To solve the country’s energy problems, we must develop nuclear power with a promising prospect.” At the same time, the Washington Post reported that “the Russian government made a secret proposal to provide nuclear power to North Korea in exchange for abandoning its nuclear weapons to resolve the stalemate in US negotiations in October 2018.” If North Korea’s nuclear negotiations move forward, it is a reward that may surface at any time.
Virtually impossible without progress in North Korea’s international cooperation and nuclear negotiations
Therefore, there are opinions that the internal preparation of the government for this situation is not a big problem. It is not an issue that the two Koreas can address independently. In addition to the immediate conflict with international sanctions against North Korea, building a nuclear power plant in North Korea with South Korean technology and equipment without the consent of the United States is a violation of the nuclear agreement between the United States and Korea. Above all, the construction of nuclear power plants is a proposal that can only be considered when conditions such as North Korea’s return to the NPT and acceptance of inspections are met in the final stage of the denuclearization roadmap, and it is stated that exists there is still a long way to go.
Kang yubin reporter [email protected]
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