MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA NOVOSTI), Ekaterina Blinova — South Korea will upgrade a Dutch nuclear reactor in accordance with a new deal signed by the countries on Monday, November 3.
"A South Korean consortium is set to upgrade the capacity of an atomic reactor at Delft University of Technology to 3 megawatts from the current 2 megawatts and to build a cold neutron research facility under the 19 million euro (US$23.6 million) deal," Yonhap, South Korea's media outlet, reported.
The signing ceremony, held at the presidential office in Seoul, was attended by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
According to the media source, South Korea's atomic consortium, led by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, has successfully outperformed its competitors from France, Germany and Russia. The deal has apparently become a breakthrough: it will be the first project implemented by the Asian country in Europe.
Yonhap underscores that the Korean Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dutch side aimed at expanding the presence of South Korea's atomic consortium in the European market. Previously, the consortium predominantly worked with customers from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Seoul has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Netherlands for "cooperation in brain research," the media outlet adds.
"I am pleased that a tangible outcome of a previous meeting is appearing," South Korea's President Park Geun-hye said, referring to her meeting with the Dutch King during the Nuclear Security Summit, which took place in the Netherlands in March 2014.
South Korea's President stressed that she hoped the two states would further expand their collaboration.
