US officially approves S. Korea's nuclear sub drive

The United States has officially approved South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines and voiced its support for the ally's drive to secure uranium enrichment and nuclear spent fuel reprocessing capabilities, according to a joint fact sheet released Thursday, Report informs via Yonhap.

The White House released the document outlining the results of the two summits that President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump held at the White House in Washington in August and in Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju last month ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The fact sheet, the first high-level bilateral official document since the launch of the Lee administration in June, encompassed a series of agreements on trade and security, including Seoul's pledge to invest $350 billion in the US in return for Washington's lowering of "reciprocal" tariffs on Korean goods to 15 percent from 25 percent.

"Consistent with the bilateral 123 agreement and subject to US legal requirements, the United States supports the process that will lead to the ROK's civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for peaceful uses," the document reads. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"The United States has given approval for the ROK to build nuclear-powered attack submarines."

The 123 agreement refers to a bilateral civil nuclear energy pact that bans South Korea's uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel as it allows only for "peaceful" use of nuclear energy.

Seoul has sought a revision to the pact to secure enrichment and recycling rights as part of efforts to address concerns about energy security and growing stockpiles of nuclear waste. It also sees the need for a revision to make way for its envisioned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines that require nuclear fuel supplies for military use.