And while inter-Korean relations remain frosty...
Pyongyang has so far refused to participate in a forum the Korean government will hold
later this week on issues like energy security and nuclear safety.
Right... and those topics hold extra meaning here in Korea... in the face of Pyongyang′s
nuclear threat.
Plus,... the country is the world′s fifth largest user of nuclear power.
To help us discuss the issues in-depth we have...
Professor Hwang Il-soon from Seoul National University joining us in the studio.
Thank you for being with us.
Thanks for having me.
The regional peace forum is titled the Northeast Asia Peace Cooperation Initiative.
In contrast to this theme, a recent survey tells us that quite a number of Koreans actually
support the idea of possessing nuclear weapons...
to cope with the threats from the North.
And over the weekend, the revision of a 40-year-old civilian nuclear agreement topped the agenda
of the "two plus two meeting"... between Korea′s top diplomats and defense chiefs and their
American counterparts.
What are some barriers preventing a major breakthrough in
the talks?
So then, why
is it so important for Korea... to be
allowed
to reprocess
spent fuel?
Korea
gets
a third of its power from nuclear energy... and it has exported
nuclear power plants
to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
Could this be a new growth engine for Korea?
Alright, professor.
Thanks again for joining us.