Washington warns against Seoul’s nuclear sovereignty debate

It was officially confirmed on Saturday (local time) that the United States added South Korea on the Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL), which had been executed by the former Biden administration earlier in January. Experts warn that the two countries’ cooperative relationship will be hindered partially across nuclear power, AI, and other cutting-edge industries.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said in a press release that South Korea was newly categorized as one of “other designated countries,” the lowest grade on the SCL early in January, clarifying that having it on the list per se does not necessarily mean that it has a hostile relationship with the U.S. government. It added that there are no new restrictions in place on cooperative quantum science and technological projects, hoping that the two countries’ cooperative frameworks will promote mutual interests.

The DOE has selected sensitive countries on grounds of national security, nuclear nonproliferation, regional instability, economic and security threats, and terrorist support on the SCL. North Korea, Iran, and other anti-U.S. nations are classified as “terrorists” while China, Russia, Taiwan, Israel, and India are only part of the SCL without being marked as “terrorists.” However, the list does not specify whether these countries are “other designated countries” just as South Korea or whether they are in the higher tier.

If the SCL takes effect on April 15 as scheduled, South Korea may be restricted from visiting facilities under the DOE or forging cooperative relationships in cutting-edge fields such as nuclear power and AI. The department handles energy industries, nuclear fuels, nuclear weapon systems, and strategic petroleum reserves under the U.S. administration. Founded in 1977, it has taken on the Manhattan Project, which was devised to develop nuclear bombs during the Second World War, to execute nuclear weaponry-related policies.

As explained by the DOE, South Korea is included in the group of “other designated countries,” the lowest tier on the list. Thus, even if it will be officially added to the list next month, it will unlikely face disruptions in its current collaborative projects on scientific technology with the United States. The fact that Washington has classified its ally into the SCL can negatively influence their mutual trust. “It comes across as somewhat unpleasant news that Washington has unexpectedly added Seoul to the list without any prior discussion,” a source from the South Korean government said.

The South Korean government plans to make a multi-faceted diplomatic effort to investigate the circumstances behind its inclusion in the SCL and find ways to be removed from the list before it goes into effect next month. Reportedly, Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun is scheduled to meet his U.S. counterpart, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, in the United States. However, critics point out that Seoul only managed to hear the news over two months after it was included in the SCL, analyzing that it may have missed the right timing for diplomatic action while mired in the impeachment situation.


Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com