Bilateral RM Activities and its Perspective in Korea

Efficiency and reliability are two essential elements in implementing safeguards regimes. Remote monitoring (RM) is one alternative step to fulfill safeguards requirements in the member states. As part of the Member State Support Program (MSSP) Korea welcomed IAEA proposal to install RM systems at LWR facilities. The agency installed RM systems consisting of digital cameras and communication servers beginning in 1988. RM based safeguards inspection is implemented for all 17 LWR facilities. Unattended monitoring systems including surveillance cameras and NDA monitoring devices were installed at CANDU reactors beginning in 2005. In addition, Korea installed a surveillance and unattended monitoring system in the ACPF (Advanced Spent Fuel Conditioning Process Facility) at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) that same year. Data began to be shared through a virtual private network (VPN) started in 2006 with the Korea Institute of Nuclear Non-proliferation and Control (KINAC), KAERI, and the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), as well. From 2009 the data are also being sent to the IAEA. Recently discussions have taken place to form a trilateral KINAC-SNL-JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency) network using RM to strengthen the regional cooperative nonproliferation. This paper addresses the main features of bilateral cooperation and offers a future prospective in nuclear nonproliferation and transparency via remote monitoring surveillance.