The Korea Times

S. Korea's nuclear-powered submarine program poses no proliferation concerns: IAEA chief

VIENNA — South Korea's planned nuclear-powered submarine program should not raise proliferation concerns given that a solid and specific safeguards arrangement will be concluded with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency's chief said Monday. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi noted Seoul and the IAEA have already begun such discussions, though they are still in a preliminary stage, due largely to the lack of specific details for Seoul's envisioned submarine program. "As you know, in order to do that (build nuclear-powered submarines), countries that are party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ... have to notify the IAEA, and for this to happen, there has to be a special arrangement with the IAEA," Grossi told a press conference here in Vienna. "So we are in the face of the kickoff ... of that process, which is a highly technical process where our safeguards experts meet with Korean experts and they start looking at what will be necessary," he added. His remarks come as South Korea is pushing to build conventionally armed, nuclear-propelled submarines fo

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