South Korea will sign an agreement with South Africa in the coming week to design and build nuclear power plants in the country, it was reported Saturday.
The agreement will be signed when South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe comes to Seoul on Friday for a two-day trip, Yonhap news agency said, quoting an unidentified South Korean foreign ministry official.
“The agreement will lay a legal ground for our advance into South Africa’s nuclear energy market,” the official was quoted as saying.
Motlanthe will meet with President Lee Myung-Bak and Kim Ssang-Su, chief executive of state-run Korea Electric Power, the report said.
South Korea is seeking contracts in other countries, including Turkey, after it sealed a landmark $20,4-billion deal with the United Arab Emirates to build a nuclear power plant.
South Korea, with few natural energy sources, operates 20 commercial reactors to provide 40% of its electricity needs. – AFP