US official criticizes E Asia plans for nuclear reprocessing

Washington, Mar 18: A senior US official has come out strongly against major powers in East Asia pursuing nuclear reprocessing that nonproliferation experts warn could lead to spiraling quantities of weapons-usable material in a tense region.

Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman yesterday told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel "has little if any economic justification" and raises concerns about nuclear security and nonproliferation.

The administration appears to be elevating its public expressions of concern over plans by Japan and China to produce plutonium for energy generation a technology that South Korea also aspires to have.

Countryman heads the State Department's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. His unusually critical comments come as President Barack Obama prepares to host more than 50 world leaders for a nuclear security summit in Washington at the end of this month.

The committee's chairman, Republican Senator Bob Corker, accused the Obama administration of encouraging reprocessing despite the concern over proliferation.

Corker pointed to the renegotiation a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with China last year that allows the reprocessing of fuel from US-designed reactors for nonmilitary purposes.

It is similar to the arrangement the US has with close ally Japan. The US has deferred a decision on giving similar consent to another close ally, South Korea, but has not ruled it out.

"We're not calling for a plutonium time-out like we could have done," Corker told the hearing. Countryman denied that the administration has encouraged reprocessing.

He said China, which unlike Japan and South Korea has nuclear weapons, already had the capability to reprocess on its own.

"I would be very happy to see all countries get out of the plutonium reprocessing business," Countryman said.

Japan began building a major reprocessing plant with French state-owned company Areva in the early 1990s.

The project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, and in November, its opening was postponed until 2018 to allow for more safety upgrades and inspections. China, meanwhile, has been negotiating with Areva for a plant on a similar scale.

AP