GOJ REQUEST TO COORDINATE NUCLEAR ISSUES RELATED

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001579 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/NESS, ISN/MNSA, AND EAP/J DOE FOR OFFICE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2019 TAGS: PREL PUNE PREL ENRG TRGY KNNP MY AE KS JP SUBJECT: GOJ REQUEST TO COORDINATE NUCLEAR ISSUES RELATED TO SOUTH KOREA, THE UAE, AND MALAYSIA REF: TOKYO 1477 Classified By: EMIN Robert F. Cekuta, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (U) Please see action request contained in para 10. ¶2. (C) Summary: Senior working level MOFA officials are interested in deepening cooperation with the U.S. to further non-proliferation efforts with third countries. Particular instances listed where MOFA would like to work more closely with the USG are Japan's upcoming nuclear cooperation negotiations with Seoul, in particular on contentious issues such as pyroprocessing that may be raised; on ensuring a U.S./Japan bid for a nuclear power project in the UAE is successful; and on advancing cooperation with Malaysia on non-proliferation. End summary. ¶3. (C) Meeting with Econoff July 9, MOFA International Nuclear Energy Cooperation Division Principal Deputy Director Zentaro Naganuma highlighted a number of areas where the GOJ would like to work closely with the U.S.to discuss nuclear cooperation with third countries. Naganuma highlighted upcoming Japanese negotiations with Seoul on a nuclear cooperation agreement, the ongoing nuclear tender in the UAE, and the plans of Malaysia to consider nuclear power as areas where the GOJ would like to coordinate with the U.S. -------------- Negotiations with Seoul -------------- ¶4. (C) Japan announced June 28 it would hold the first round of negotiations towards a nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea July 30 in Seoul. Naganuma suggested Japan and the U.S. have stricter positions than South Korea regarding the spread of nuclear technology to developing countries. Japan requires the recipient country to have a strong position on safeguards, safety and security and, before any negotiations can even begin, requires a prospective partner to have concluded an Additional Protocol. Naganuma said South Korea is a recently emergent vendor that sells relatively inexpensive reactors. The GOJ's concern is that these potential ROK customers may not have sufficiently strong positions on safeguards, safety and security. The MOFA therefore believes there could be room for strengthening cooperation with South Korea and has encouraged the ROK to think about requiring potential customers to adopt non-proliferation-related measures such as AP ratification, as conditions for any commercial deals. Naganuma said if the USG were to take a similar approach, South Korea might be more inclined to consider such non-proliferation aspects more strongly. ¶5. (C) Naganuma also raised reprocessing. Referencing past discussions on whether pyroprocessing should be considered reprocessing, he said the GOJ expects the ROK to raise this issue during negotiations. He noted the GOJ would like to seek information onQhe arguments South Korea used on this issue during its negotiations with the U.S. and said MOFA has already instructed the Japanese Embassy to approach Washington agencies on this issue. -------------- Fuel and Operation Services in the UAE -------------- ¶6. (C) Naganuma detailed one challenge related to the joint U.S.-Japan bid for the nuclear project in the UAE. The Ministry, he said, held discussions with the UAE June 25, at which time UAE representatives stressed the need for "overall service." Asked what this would include, Naganuma said the UAE mentioned specifically fuel services and plant operation, but not reprocessing. The UAE reportedly feels the GE/Hitachi consortium should be in a position to provide these services. Naganuma noted Hitachi would need help from a Japanese utility to provide operating services. If it cannot successfully make that arrangement, Hitachi would need to turn to a U.S. utility. Naganuma hinted this issue could be a challenge for U.S. and Japanese companies in other locations as well and might require deepening USG-GOJ nuclear cooperation. -------------- Malaysia seeking GOJ support -------------- ¶7. (C) Naganuma also noted Malaysia's recently announced plans to develop nuclear power. At present, the GOJ does not have an official position or even a strong view on Malaysia's interest in nuclear energy. Naganuma had just returned from a conference in Kuala Lumpur, where he conducted an informal exchange with Malaysian officials and strongly stressed the importance of safety, safeguards, and security. Malaysian officials had expressed an interest in deepening cooperation with Japan and possibly beginning some kind of joint project, he added. Naganuma said the GOJ has no official position regarding helping Malaysia develop nuclear power per se, but it does believe developing Malaysia's capability related to safety, safeguards, and security would be useful. In that regard, Japan will consider ways it can provide assistance in those areas, but will not transfer any equipment or material. ¶8. (C) According to Naganuma, Malaysia's foreign ministry had previously criticized the IAEA Additional Protocol (AP), claiming global disarmament was not proceeding fast enough relative to non-proliferation efforts. However, during his visit, the Director General of the Malaysian atomic regulatory agency had spoken in favor of Malaysia's ratification of the Additional Protocol. ¶9. (C) Finally, given the A.Q. Khan network's past activities in Malaysia, Naganuma suggested it might be prudent to make an assessment of non-proliferation and export control issues with Malaysia before proceeding too far. He requested any USG views on these issues be shared with the GOJ if possible. ¶10. (C) Action request: Post would appreciate any information on non-proliferation or export control issues related to Malaysia that can be shared with the GOJ. ZUMWALT