The South Koreans hailed the deal as a triumph for their nuclear industry, although it made for uncomfortable viewing as their American allies press a campaign of economic pressure to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine. South Korean officials said the United States had been consulted in advance on the deal and that technologies provided by Seoul for the project would not conflict with international sanctions against Russia. According to South Korea’s presidential office and trade ministry, state-owned Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power was subcontracted by Russia’s Atomstroyexport to supply certain materials and equipment and build turbine buildings and other structures at the plant being built in Dabaa. The Mediterranean coastal city is located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) northwest of Cairo. Atomstroyexport, also called ASE, is a subsidiary of Rosatom, a state-owned Russian nuclear conglomerate. The company has a contract with Egypt to deliver four 1,200 megawatt reactors by 2030. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power’s portion of the project is from 2023 to 2029. A senior aide to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said the negotiations had been slowed by “unexpected variables”, notably Russia’s war in Ukraine and the US-led sanctions campaign against Moscow for its aggression. Choi Sang-mok, Yoon’s senior secretary for economic affairs, said South Korea had provided an explanation to the United States in advance about its plans to participate in the Dabaa project and that the allies would maintain close consultation as work progressed. As part of US-led sanctions against Moscow, South Korea ended trade with Russia’s central bank and sovereign wealth funds and banned exports of strategic materials to Russia. Neither Choi nor officials from South Korea’s trade ministry clarified how the crisis in Ukraine and sanctions in Moscow affected negotiations between Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and ASE. Choi stressed that South Korea’s involvement in the project would not conflict with international sanctions against Russia. “Any issue can be faced by various uncertainties, but all of those have been resolved so far, and that’s why we were able to complete the deal,” he said. Yoon’s office expressed hope that South Korea’s participation in the Dabaa project would help the country gain a foothold in future nuclear projects across Africa and also improve its export prospects to countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Saudi Arabia. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power had been in negotiations with ASE as the preferred bidder for the turbine-related project since December, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Go Myong-hyun, a senior analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said the deal would not have been possible without export approval from the United States, as the components supplied by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power likely include US-sourced technology . Current sanctions against Moscow also do not include specific restrictions related to nuclear energy, and the Biden administration would have no interest in halting a critical project for Egypt, which it sees as a key partner in the region, Go said. While South Korea’s involvement in the Dabaa plan would not immediately be a problem among the allies if the Americans signed on, things could change depending on how Russia’s war in Ukraine plays out and if Washington expands export controls of against Moscow, Go said. Yoon’s office said the Dabaa project is South Korea’s biggest export of nuclear power technology since 2009, when a South Korean-led consortium won a $20 billion contract to build nuclear power reactors in the United Arab Emirates. Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, has pledged to boost exports of South Korea’s nuclear power technology, which he says has been hurt by the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who sought to reduce the country’s domestic dependence on nuclear power. Yoon in a statement on Facebook said the deal confirms South Korea’s “advanced technology and safety and strong supply chains” in the nuclear power industry. His government has set a goal of exporting 10 nuclear power reactors by 2030.
