SAFEGUARDS; ITS ROLE IN THE PROMOTION OF THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY

According to the Statute of the IAEA, IAEA is authorized to establish and administer safeguards as well as to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace. Nuclear power capacity, which was considered saturated after 1990, is forecasted to increase because of the high oil price and Framework Convention on Climate Change. Many developing countries worldwide hope to introduce nuclear power in their countries, which is one of the main challenges to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. Safeguards system has evolved over the past 30 years and has been strengthened the efficiency and effectiveness. Under a comprehensive safeguards agreement, the State is required to establish and maintain a system of accounting for and control of nuclear material subject to safeguards under the agreement. Korea first started the commercial nuclear power generation in 1970s, introduced SSAC in 1997. Korea is a non-weapon state, and one of the biggest nuclear power capacities the world. In 2001, enhanced cooperation was started following the MOU between IAEA and Korea, which was far before than the integrated safeguards regime. It aimed to strengthen the efficiency of safeguards. In 2004, Korea had a bitter but invaluable experience. Korea failed to report old activities date back more than 20 years after ratified Additional Protocol. After this, Korea has strengthened the SSAC in Korea. KINAC was established as an independent organization in charge of SSAC in Korea. Safeguards lectures were obligated not only to the facility operators, but also to fuel-cycle project investigators. Through the enhanced cooperation with IAEA, the broader conclusion was drawn for Korea and integrated safeguards. In the strengthened non-proliferation regime, the role of safeguards can be classified as following: First, thorough implementation of the domestic material accountancy, the second is research and development to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the safeguards, the third is domestic education/outreach activities of the nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards. The last is international cooperation to strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime. As nuclear technology spreads around the world, so does the risk of nuclear proliferation. International cooperation will be the core to strengthen the nonproliferation regime.