US official criticises East Asia plans for nuclear reprocessing
Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel ‘has little if any economic justification’ and raises concerns about nuclear security and non-proliferation, claims official
A senior US official came out strongly on Thursday against major powers in East Asia pursuing nuclear reprocessing that non-proliferation experts warn could lead to spiralling quantities of weapons-useable material in a tense region.
Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel “has little if any economic justification” and raises concerns about nuclear security and non-proliferation.
The administration appears to be elevating its public expressions of concern over plans by Japan and China to produce plutonium for energy generation – a technology that South Korea also aspires to have.
Countryman heads the State Department’s Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation. His unusually critical comments come as President Barack Obama prepares to host more than 50 world leaders for a nuclear security summit in Washington at the end of this month.
The committee’s chairman, Republican Senator Bob Corker, accused the Obama administration of encouraging reprocessing despite the concern over proliferation.
Corker pointed to the renegotiation a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with China last year that allows the reprocessing of fuel from US-designed reactors for non-military purposes. It is similar to the arrangement the US has with close ally Japan.