US President Donald Trump greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the prince's visit to the White House in November last year. [AFP]
US President Donald Trump greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the prince's visit to the White House in November last year. [AFP]

A US nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia is drawing criticism that it could fuel demands for nuclear development not only across the Middle East but in South Korea as well.

The New York Times said Wednesday (local time) that by striking a deal that could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own soil, the United States had triggered an unavoidable question from South Korea: "Why is Saudi Arabia allowed to, but not us?"

The Times highlighted South Korea's membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, its acceptance of strict safeguards, and its experience operating 26 nuclear reactors, noting that Seoul has long negotiated with Washington over the right to enrich uranium. It said granting potential enrichment rights to Saudi Arabia — a country that has yet to build a single nuclear power plant — amounts to a double standard toward South Korea.

The paper also noted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had previously declared that if Iran developed nuclear weapons, his country would seek them too. South Korea, by contrast, has repeatedly pledged never to pursue nuclear arms.

The Times said the agreement "is raising hopes for progress in nuclear negotiations between South Korea and the United States," but warned it "could also plant the seeds of a deep rift in a 70-year alliance if the US continues to ignore South Korea's demands."

The South Korean government has said enrichment and reprocessing are necessary for the smooth use of nuclear fuel for peaceful and commercial purposes.

Under that position, South Korea secured a political commitment through a joint fact sheet released at a South Korea-US summit last November. Washington said it "supports processes that would result in the civilian uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing for South Korea's peaceful uses, consistent with the US-South Korea nuclear cooperation agreement and in compliance with US legal requirements."

The US Department of Energy announced Wednesday that it had signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement — known as a "123 agreement" — with Saudi Arabia. The deal drew international criticism for containing no provisions barring uranium enrichment or the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Reuters and multiple other outlets said the absence of those two clauses leaves the door open for Saudi Arabia to eventually produce weapons-grade nuclear material.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday saying he would approve the 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia, adding that it was "contingent entirely on Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords." Trump said the nuclear deal would take effect only if Saudi Arabia normalized ties and established formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

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