South Korea, U.S. discuss nuclear power

SEOUL, March 29 (UPI) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye asked Friday for U.S. congressional support in a planned expansion of "peaceful use of atomic power," an aide said.

Park met in Seoul with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

They discussed a request that an agreement signed with the United States be revised to allow South Korea to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, the report said.

"President Park asked for congressional attention so that the Korea-U.S. nuclear pact will be revised in a way that enables South Korea to expand its peaceful use of atomic power," Park spokeswoman Kim Haing said in a statement.

Cocker said he is aware of South Korea's need for nuclear power and he hopes the two countries can come to a mutually beneficial agreement.

South Korea and the United States have been in talks to rewrite the original pact, written in 1974 and set to expire in March 2014. Officials said the two countries will likely reach an agreement this summer.