Overview
- Senior officials from Seoul and Washington completed two days of working talks in Seoul on June 2–3 and agreed to a schedule and review mechanism to push for tangible results within the year.
- Both sides committed to a second round of consultations in Washington as soon as next month to turn technical talks into concrete milestones and accelerate follow-up meetings.
- Negotiators focused on two linked issues: Seoul’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and South Korea’s bid for broader civilian rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent fuel.
- Discussions flagged the need to amend the Korea‑U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement that now limits enrichment below 20% and bans reprocessing, while the U.S. stressed nonproliferation safeguards and fair treatment for U.S. firms.
- South Korean officials signaled an industrial plan to build the hulls domestically while importing reactor fuel, a path that would reshape the navy, local shipbuilding jobs, and alliance logistics if the pact is revised.