Wi Sung-lac, head of the Office of National Security at the presidential office, said on the 24th that the two sides agreed that a separate accord between the United States and Korea is needed on cooperation over nuclear submarines and decided to move it forward.
Deputy Minister Wi held a briefing at Chunchugwan at the Blue House on visits to the United States, Canada and Japan on the morning of the 24th, and said, "On the 16th-22nd, I visited the United States and met widely with key U.S. government officials who play an important role in implementing the joint fact sheet."
Deputy Minister Wi said, "First, we exchanged views on matters requiring focused discussion in each area of spent nuclear fuel enrichment and reprocessing, and nuclear submarines," and added, "Regarding spent nuclear fuel enrichment and reprocessing, we explained to the U.S. side that President Lee Jae-myung has repeatedly emphasized a commitment to nuclear nonproliferation."
He continued, "We stressed that our capabilities amount to strategic cooperation from the perspective of energy security for both Korea and the United States," and said, "Both sides confirmed a consensus that the presidential office should take the lead and push the agreement forward with speed."
Deputy Minister Wi also said, "In particular, at the earliest possible time early next year, a U.S. working-level delegation will visit Korea to begin full-fledged consultations on security items in the joint fact sheet," and added, "We agreed to set milestones at certain points such as midyear and the second half for performance reviews."
He added, "The nuclear submarines we are pursuing are envisioned to be equipped with reactors using low-enriched fuel," and said, "There is no plan to introduce highly enriched fuel."