S Korea, US to hold nuclear energy talks

SEOUL - South Korea and the United States will hold talks about revising the nuclear energy pact, which prevents the former from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, in Austria on Sunday, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The 11th round of meeting will be held on Sept 21 in Vienna, the first in about three months, on the sidelines of a plenary meeting for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The so-called "123 agreement," which was signed in 1974, has restricted South Korea's use of civil nuclear energy on concerns over a possible negative impact on global campaigns for non-proliferation.

South Korea has demanded the renewal of the accord to dispose the cumulating nuclear wastes by reprocessing spent fuel rods. The country has called for using the "pyro-processing" technology, known as a technology with less proliferation risks as it mixes plutonium with other elements.

The ministry said the South Korean delegation will have "intensive" consultations over ways of enhancing strategic cooperation between the two countries to renew the accord in a mutually beneficial way.

The two sides began talking about the revision of the pact from August 2010, but they agreed last year to extend the negotiation period to March 2016 after failing to narrow differences.

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