US officially approves South Korea’s nuclear sub drive, backs its push for uranium enrichment

WASHINGTON: 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 spent nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities, according to a released joint fact sheet.

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 US$350 billion in the US in return for Washington's lowering of "reciprocal" tariffs on Korean goods to 15 percent from 25 percent, Yonhap news agency reported.

"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. (IANS)

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