New South Korean reactor shuts down

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SEOUL, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- An automatic shutdown was triggered at a nuclear power plant in South Korea Sunday, the facility's operators said.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. said the new Shin Woldong 1 reactor went offline Sunday morning when a malfunction was detected in a system that control's the power output of the plant.

A company official told the Yonhap news agency the cause of the malfunction was being determined and there was no danger of a radiation leak.

The Shin Woldong 1 reactor located southeast of Seoul went into operation at the end of July and has a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, Yonhap said.

The shutdown comes at a time when South Korea's electricity supply has been strained by hot weather. The nation came close to a blackout last September when high temperatures continued into early fall.

About 30 percent of South Korea's electricity comes from 23 nuclear plants.