South Korea, U.S., Japan form alliance on SMR exports
· UPIJuly 13 (Asia Today) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan are discussing a possible joint small modular reactor project with an Indo-Pacific country following the signing of a trilateral cooperation agreement, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
The three countries signed a memorandum of cooperation Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
The agreement is intended to promote cooperation among companies from the three countries on deploying small modular reactors in third countries and strengthening energy security in the Indo-Pacific region.
It also calls for the projects to maintain high standards of nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation.
"Since the memorandum was signed, we have received welcoming responses through several diplomatic channels," the ministry official told reporters.
"Discussions are underway with one Indo-Pacific country regarding a consortium involving South Korea, the United States and Japan," the official said without identifying the country.
The three governments began discussing the agreement during the first half of 2025.
The pact is designed primarily to provide government support for private companies seeking to enter overseas small modular reactor markets.
Small modular reactors are designed to be built in factories and assembled at deployment sites. Supporters say their smaller size could reduce upfront investment requirements and construction periods compared with conventional large nuclear reactors.
The Foreign Ministry official said the agreement would not interfere with existing civilian nuclear projects pursued by the three countries or their companies.
The official also said it would not create new obligations under domestic or international law.
The agreement comes as concerns grow about the concentration of the global nuclear supply chain in Russia and China.
Russia's state-owned Rosatom provides services across much of the nuclear power life cycle, including financing, reactor construction, operation, fuel supply, enrichment and waste management.
China has also rapidly expanded its domestic nuclear construction program and is seeking a larger role in overseas nuclear projects.
Some analysts say Washington promoted the trilateral arrangement to offer Indo-Pacific countries an alternative as Russia and China expand their influence in conventional and advanced nuclear power markets.
The agreement could allow the three allies to combine their different industrial strengths.
The United States leads in original reactor designs and intellectual property for several small modular reactor technologies but has built relatively few new commercial nuclear plants in recent decades.
Japan retains advanced nuclear components and engineering capabilities, although its domestic nuclear supply chain weakened after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and the shutdown of most of its reactors.
South Korea has continued building nuclear power plants for more than four decades and has emphasized its ability to complete large projects on schedule and within budget.
South Korean companies could contribute engineering, construction and manufacturing capabilities to projects based on U.S. reactor technology and supported by Japanese components and financing.
The International Energy Agency has said small modular reactors could play an important role in nuclear energy expansion, although their commercial growth will depend on reducing costs and completing initial projects successfully.
The Foreign Ministry official said the agreement was not directly related to separate South Korea-U.S. discussions concerning uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.
The official said, however, that the agreement showed an important change in the way Washington views Seoul's nuclear industry.
"The encouraging part is that the United States, which previously viewed South Korea mainly through the lens of nonproliferation, has begun to see us as a nuclear energy partner," the official said.
"We are also emphasizing to the United States that it needs a trustworthy ally in Asia for nuclear supply chains and energy security," the official said.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260713010004832