Will South Korea's 'sensitive' country designation impair cooperation with the U.S.?

SEOUL — A revelation that the U.S. Department of Energy has designated South Korea arsenic a “sensitive country” — a statement reserved for nations deemed to airs a menace to nationalist information oregon atomic nonproliferation — has near South Korean officials scrambling for answers.

Questioned by lawmakers during a parliamentary league connected March 11, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said the South Korean authorities had been unaware of the measure, uncovering retired done “unofficial channels” lone aft section media broke the quality a time earlier.

Maintained by the Department of Energy’s counterintelligence unit, the Sensitive Country List includes atomic states specified arsenic India and Russia arsenic good arsenic countries deemed to beryllium sponsors of terrorism, specified arsenic North Korea oregon Iran.

South Korea’s summation to the list, which the Department of Energy announced to probe institutions nether its purview this month, volition beryllium finalized by April 15, South Korea’s Hankyoreh paper reported.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, be a rally.

(Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)

In a connection to The Times connected Saturday, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy confirmed the alteration had been made by the outgoing Biden medication successful January, but did not explicate why.

“Inclusion does not needfully bespeak an adversarial narration with the United States. Many designated countries are those we regularly cooperate with connected a assortment of energy, science, technology, counterterrorism and nonproliferation issues,” the spokesperson said, adding that South Korea was labeled an “Other Designated Country” — the “lowest category” of the list.

“Inclusion connected the SCL besides does not prohibit Americans oregon U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) unit from visiting oregon doing concern with listed countries, conscionable arsenic it doesn’t forestall these overseas nationals from visiting DOE sites,” the spokesperson said. “The designation does not prohibit technological oregon method cooperation. These visits and practice acquisition an interior reappraisal beforehand.”

On Monday, Cho told section reporters that officials believed the determination was triggered by “a security-related problem” astatine a Department of Energy probe lab. In an auditing study covering October 2023 done March 2024 submitted to Congress, the Department of Energy disclosed it had fired a contractor for attempting to committee a level to South Korea with “proprietary atomic reactor plan software.”

Still, the U.S. government’s unannounced determination to enactment a major, nonnuclear state successful the aforesaid institution arsenic countries specified arsenic China oregon North Korea has unsettled politicians, with galore interpreting it arsenic a stroke to the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

“Something unprecedented successful the 70 years of the U.S.-South Korea confederation has happened,” said Democratic Party spokesperson Kim Sung-hoi.

Nonproliferation experts person attributed the determination to U.S. wariness of the increasing chorus successful South Korea for its ain atomic armament.

Although South Korea has been a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty since the 1970s, that conception has gained important traction since President Trump’s archetypal term, erstwhile helium hinted that the U.S. mightiness retreat troops from South Korea, which helium has accused of not paying capable for their upkeep.

“Why would we support somebody? And we’re talking astir a precise affluent country. But they’re a precise affluent state and wherefore wouldn’t they privation to pay?” Trump said successful an interrogation with Time mag past year.

With the U.S. nary longer seen arsenic a reliable supplier of subject support, high-ranking officials present person openly mulled implicit the anticipation of South Korea processing its ain atomic capabilities, among them blimpish President Yoon Suk Yeol — who presently faces impeachment for his declaration of martial instrumentality past twelvemonth — and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

“There whitethorn travel a clip erstwhile we tin nary longer trust connected the U.S. for our security,” wrote erstwhile Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan successful a paper file this month, soon aft the Trump medication suspended subject assistance to Ukraine. “And to hole for specified a scenario, we request to fortify our ain subject strength, including imaginable atomic capabilities, truthful that we tin incorporate North Korea connected our own.”

Despite South Korea’s ceremonial commitments to nonproliferation, these comments are apt being interpreted by U.S. officials overmuch much earnestly than South Korean officials mightiness think, said Tom Countryman, a erstwhile adjunct caput of State for planetary information and nonproliferation.

South Korean service self-propelled howitzers instrumentality positions successful Paju, adjacent the borderline with North Korea. During President Trump’s archetypal term, helium hinted that the U.S. mightiness retreat troops from South Korea, which helium has accused of not paying capable for their upkeep.

(Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)

“It’s unusual, but astatine the aforesaid time, determination is nary different state successful the satellite that does not already person atomic weapons wherever the nationalist statement astir possibly getting nuclear weapons is arsenic large arsenic it is successful the Republic of Korea close now,” helium said of the sensitive-country listing.

Countryman, who successful 2015 led negotiations with South Korea for the revised 123 Agreement — a pact that the U.S. authorities requires of countries seeking method practice and assistance successful civilian atomic vigor — noted that U.S. officials are inactive conscious of the information that South Korea erstwhile ran a covert atomic weapons programme successful the 1970s and that consequent administrations present person continued to propulsion for the indispensable U.S. support to reprocess spent atomic reactor substance into plutonium, which is simply a important steppingstone toward gathering atomic weapons.

“It is inactive a applicable past today,” helium said.

Due successful portion to important technological assistance from the U.S. dating backmost decades, South Korea has 1 of the astir blase civilian atomic programs successful the world, with 26 reactors providing astir 30% of the country’s electricity.

Citing the trouble of storing spent substance successful South Korea’s tiny onshore mass, South Korean officials person agelong argued for the close to reprocess its ain spent substance arsenic Japan does, a determination that the 123 Agreement successful 2015 postponed.

But South Korea’s caller designation whitethorn mean that the doorway connected that extremity has closed.

“I judge that each of the escaped governmental speech astir atomic weapons makes it little apt that the United States would springiness specified permission,” Countryman said.

In South Korea, galore fearfulness that the designation volition hamstring technological practice with the U.S., including successful atomic vigor arsenic good arsenic artificial quality and quantum computing.

“It volition formed a chill implicit the probe atmosphere, particularly with stricter screening for South Korean researchers trying to sojourn the U.S. oregon enactment successful projects that the Department of Energy sees arsenic delicate oregon risky,” said Moon Joo-hyun, a atomic idiosyncratic astatine Dankook University.

Among the probe areas affected whitethorn beryllium tiny modular reactors, which person been hailed by governments arsenic a much cost-effective and safer alternate to accepted atomic reactors, alongside concerns that they airs a greater proliferation risk.

Nuclear experts specified arsenic Moon accidental South Korea, which is 1 of the fewer countries successful the satellite that exports atomic reactors, whitethorn find itself taxable to Department of Energy controls connected the ground that South Korea’s flagship export reactor was built based connected a U.S. design.

Following a $20-billion woody successful 2009 to supply the United Arab Emirates with 4 reactors, South Korea has expressed involvement successful exporting its reactors to Saudi Arabia, which has refused to motion a 123 Agreement with the U.S. unless it is allowed to enrich its ain uranium — different way to making atomic bombs.

Last year, aft the Czech Republic named South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power arsenic the preferred bidder for its ain large atomic powerfulness project, U.S.-based atomic powerfulness institution Westinghouse filed a suit against Korea Hydro alleging intelligence spot violations. The 2 companies reached a colony this year.

“There were a batch of aspects of the Czech bid that seemed to marque the U.S. uncomfortable, and I really deliberation that this fearfulness of South Korea’s increasing stock successful the planetary atomic vigor marketplace mightiness besides person played a portion successful the determination to database South Korea,” said Hwang Ji-hwan, a atomic nonproliferation adept astatine the University of Seoul.

“There are inactive areas successful which South Korea needs the practice of their U.S. counterparts during these export deals, specified arsenic patents. Those could instrumentality a hit,” Hwang said.