According to political sources on Wednesday, the government reported at a full committee meeting of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee that it is negotiating a "nuclear framework" with Washington that bundles the construction of eight large reactors in the United States with an equity investment in Westinghouse. The eight comprise six of Westinghouse's AP1000 units and two Korean APR1400 units.
The crux is the decision to revise the settlement agreement, or SA, signed by KEPCO, KHNP and Westinghouse to open the way for the APR1400 in the United States. The SA was concluded when the parties ended their dispute over nuclear intellectual property rights. At the time, they set the terms that would apply to future reactor exports, including which markets were open, technology fees, and the supply of services, equipment and nuclear fuel. Under that deal, construction of the APR1400 in the United States has been restricted.
The revision is expected to permit the construction of up to two APR1400 units in the United States, limited to nuclear projects financed through Korea's strategic investment in the country. The change would carve out an exception to the existing agreement, allowing the Korean reactor onto the U.S. mainland for the first time.
The talks were not smooth. Westinghouse is said to have strongly objected to the APR1400's entry into the United States, where it could compete with the company's flagship AP1000. Washington took a different view, concluding that a sharp expansion of domestic nuclear construction would be impossible without the participation of Korea, which has recently built large reactors.
