South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that a newly concluded nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia likely does not grant Riyadh independent uranium enrichment rights, even as it opens the door to enrichment on Saudi soil.
"The question drawing the most attention is whether Saudi Arabia has secured enrichment rights, but it seems premature to draw a clear conclusion in either direction," a ministry official told reporters Tuesday. "Enrichment within Saudi Arabia may be permitted, but it is difficult to view this as granting independent enrichment authority."
Under the agreement, the two countries plan to conduct a joint two-year feasibility study on enrichment. Even if that study finds enrichment to be necessary, a US company would build, operate and control the enrichment facility inside Saudi Arabia in a "black box" arrangement.
If the feasibility study does not support enrichment, Saudi Arabia would be subject to a 10-year moratorium barring it from pursuing enrichment independently or with a third country.
The ministry said it therefore views Saudi Arabia as unlikely to obtain the kind of independent enrichment rights that Seoul is currently seeking in its own nuclear consultations with Washington.
The ministry also noted that safeguards for Saudi Arabia are not being waived. Although Saudi Arabia does not appear to have agreed to join the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol, Riyadh did agree to a separate bilateral safeguards agreement with the United States when the deal was concluded, the official said.
The details of those safeguards and the extent of IAEA involvement remain unclear, the official said, but Washington could be expected to have included measures sufficient to meet its nonproliferation standards and secure congressional approval.
The ministry said it would monitor developments closely, noting that Saudi Arabia's nuclear capabilities and circumstances differ from South Korea's. "As a negotiations team, we are mindful of the Trump administration's recent tendency to weigh commercial and strategic considerations in its overseas nuclear cooperation," the official said. The ministry plans to analyze the agreement's practical implications in depth once the full text is released.
The government will also closely watch sentiment among nonproliferation advocates inside and outside US political circles, as well as the Trump administration's response and any congressional decisions on the matter.
Ultimately, the agreement presents both opportunities and challenges for South Korea, given that the Trump administration appears to be balancing nonproliferation principles against commercial and strategic interests.
On the opportunity side, if South Korea secures enrichment and reprocessing rights as global nuclear competition intensifies, it could broaden the scope of bilateral nuclear cooperation and strengthen both countries' nuclear capabilities. South Korea, the United States and Japan have also previously confirmed their intent to cooperate on entering the small modular reactor market through a related memorandum of cooperation.
However, Washington's decision to include multiple safeguards in its nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia underscores its continued commitment to nonproliferation — and that remains a complicating factor. Even if Seoul pushes for expanded enrichment and reprocessing rights, similar nonproliferation concerns could be raised. The government is carefully reviewing the specifics of the US-Saudi nuclear agreement as it prepares for future bilateral nuclear consultations with Washington.
moone@heraldcorp.com
