South Korea faces US demand for costly nuclear fuel reprocessing amid $200 billion investment cap

Seoul’s current U.S. investment slate, which includes a $22.3 billion gas-fired combined-cycle plant in Encinal, Texas, a $120 billion eight-reactor nuclear construction framework, and a $67 billion Alaskan LNG pipeline, already surpasses the $200 billion ceiling agreed with Washington. In recent talks, the United States suggested that South Korea also fund a pyroprocessing project to treat roughly 4,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from U.S. reactors.

The proposal, whose cost has not been disclosed, would involve molten-salt technology that reduces waste volume but creates large amounts of radioactive material during processing. Korean officials say they must reassess priorities and commercial feasibility, while experts highlight the high expense and limited benefit, noting Japan’s costly experience with a similar plant and Korea’s modest 0.2-ton annual capacity. A senior deputy-prime-minister nominee declined to comment on the specifics, and concerns remain that U.S. leadership as “general partner” could limit Korea’s influence over the project’s later stages.