Iran Eyes Nuclear Cooperation with South Korea


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s nuclear chief expressed the country’s willingness to launch cooperation with South Korea on the construction of small reactors and large nuclear power plants.

Tehran is eager to promote cooperation with Seoul in diverse fields, including development of small reactors and large nuclear power plants, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said at a meeting with South Korean ambassador to Tehran, Kim Sung-ho.

The Iranian official also voiced Iran’s keenness for closer cooperation with South Korea in supplying advanced equipment for nuclear medicine and health sector, and in other fields of peaceful employment of nuclear technology.

The envoy, for his part, hailed the comprehensive nuclear deal reached in July 2015 between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) as the harbinger of a new chapter in Tehran-Seoul cooperation.

Kim also said nuclear energy can be a driving force for expansion of bilateral relations between Tehran and Seoul.

Rising interests in nuclear cooperation with Iran follows the implementation of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which took effect on January 16.

The JCPOA has terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, reopened the doors of foreign investment to the country’s market, and prepared the ground for a much-anticipated economic boom.