Russian nuclear fuel cycle company Tenex and the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) have discussed cooperation on research and development in decommissioning and radioactive waste management technologies.

Korean and Russian representatives at the Korea-Russia Future Nuclear Cooperation Forum (Image: KAERI)

The cooperation was discussed during the Korea-Russia Future Nuclear Cooperation Forum held on 6 November in Moscow.

Tenex is the subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom responsible for international cooperation on nuclear technology export, nuclear decommissioning and waste management.

KAERI and Tenex will look into conducting joint research into nuclear decommissioning and decontamination measures, and holding technical exchanges on radioactive waste disposal technology.

KAERI President Ha Jae-joo said the discussions were "the starting point for solving problems related to nuclear safety research facing both countries today".

Kori unit 1, which was permanently shut down in June 2017, is the first South Korean reactor to enter decommissioning. Last September, KAERI signed contracts with several domestic companies to develop technologies for decommissioning the unit. At that time, KAERI said it had already secured 27 technologies out of 38 identified for the complete decommissioning of Kori 1. It said it was already at the laboratory verification stage for the remaining 11 technologies and that it aimed to gain the necessary expertise by 2021.

Six civil reactors are being decommissioned in Russia.