Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen ...
is a pleasure for me to once again visit Korea, particularly on this happy occasion. The inauguration of the Korea Multi-Purpose Research Reactor, HANARO, represents a significant step forward in the development of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in Korea. This reactor will be the centrepiece of a nuclear research programme which will support your ambitious development of nuclear power. It will also provide significant radioisotope production capacity for medical and industrial applications for years to come and it will expand the research capability of KAERI.
In the six years from the beginning of construction in February, 1989 until first criticality in February of this year you have demonstrated the extent to which your technology has progressed. Overall management of this project has been Korean with construction and much of the equipment supplied by Korean companies. This is an achievement of which you can be justly proud.
The IAEA has assisted the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), an active participant in the technical co-operation programme of the Agency, in developing capabilities used in the design of this research reactor. Presently, there is an ongoing technical co-operation project intended to help KAERI to acquire detailed design capabilities and up-to-date information on instruments for materials characterization and testing. This project covers the acquisition of advanced techniques such as high resolution neutron diffraction, small angle neutron spectrometry, low-temperature irradiation and neutron radiography.
The expansion of Korea s nuclear power generating capacity has been impressive. With ten operating power reactors meeting more than one third of your electricity needs you have reduced your dependence on fossil fuels and have avoided significant emission of greenhouse gases that these fossil fuels would generate. The Korean Atomic Industrial Forum (KAIF) calculates that over the 17-year period since your first nuclear power plant, KORI-I, went into commercial operation in 1978, there has been a cumulative production exceeding 500 billion kilowatt hours of electrical energy generated by Korean nuclear power plants, more than 36% of the electrical energy generated in Korea over the 17-year period. KAIF estimates that CO2 emissions of more than 450 million metric tonnes have been thus avoided.
The six nuclear power plants that are now under construction and those planned into the next century will not only contribute to Korean prosperity, but will contribute further to global environmental stability. The testing made possible by the HANARO reactor will help KAERI and Korean industry build reliable reactor components and fuel.
The technical co-operation programme between the Agency and the Republic of Korea encompasses a project on Strengthening National Safety Standards development and implementation capabilities. Under this project, the Agency is planning to send a Design Safety Review Mission to the Korean-designed Nuclear Power Plants Ulchin 3 and 4 during the month of May 1995. Several international experts, together with Agency staff, will conduct the review. Other missions on nuclear power plants safety aspects are also planned in the course of this year.
The IAEA is dedicated to enlarging the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. In this regard, we will be co-sponsoring the Fifth International Symposium on Asian Research Reactors here at Daeduk in October next year, one step in the pursuit of this objective.
The Agency is indeed actively supporting co-operation among the East Asia and Pacific countries in the field of nuclear power. The Republic of Korea will be hosting the first regional meeting set up by the Agency on Operational and Safety Issues in Nuclear Power Plants scheduled from 10-14 April 1995 at KEPCO training centre near Pusan. Plant managers and superintendents from five countries in the region will attend the meeting.
As a result of all the advancements made in the field of Nuclear Power Technology by the Republic of Korea, you are now in a position to organize training programmes and scientific visits for fellows sponsored by the IAEA in the excellent training institutions you have. We are pleased to note that the Republic of Korea has evolved from a primary technical assistance user country into a potential technical co-operation supplier country. We encourage the Republic of Korea, with its large research and industrial base in the peaceful uses of atomic energy, to share the technology acquired, in part through the Agency s programmes. Many countries, especially in the Asia and Pacific region, look forward to such co-operation with the Republic of Korea.
One area of IAEA activity which has attracted considerable interest is the use of nuclear energy for the desalination of seawater. This is of particular interest to coastal States that, like the Republic of Korea, have limited potable water resources. I am told that the Republic of Korea, too, has shown interest in this technology. The 38th General Conference (1994) of the IAEA passed a resolution which has led to a programme of desalination demonstration projects - the Options Identification Programme. This programme will rely on extrabudgetary contributions from interested States.
Finally, Mr. President, I congratulate you and the dedicated staff of KAERI and the companies participating in this project on this success.