EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers want Chris Wright to emphasize U.S.-South Korean civilian nuclear efforts at APEC

In advance of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) energy meeting, a group of Republican members of Congress wrote to Energy Secretary Chris Wright requesting enhanced cooperation between America and South Korea on civilian-nuclear efforts; this summer’s APEC will be held in South Korea.

The lawmakers who wrote to Wright in the letter — first obtained by the Washington Reporter — are Reps. Scott Fitzgerald (R., Wis.), Glenn Grothman (R., Wis.), Jen Kiggans (R., Va.), John McGuire (R., Va.), and Tony Wied (R., Wis.); they want American and South Korean civil-nuclear cooperation to be a “core priority at upcoming international forums and in future bilateral engagements.”

“Closer cooperation with South Korea on nuclear energy offers significant benefits for the United States, including economic gains, job creation, supply chain security, and the ability to meet rising power demand,” the lawmakers wrote.

Wied explained to the Reporter why enhanced partnership between America and South Korea benefits his constituents in Wisconsin, “it's in the best interest of Wisconsinites, and all Americans, that we continue strengthening our partnerships with our allies to combat China’s ongoing aggression. I'm proud to stand with my colleagues to reaffirm the importance of our nuclear alliance with South Korea."

There are four main reasons for enhanced ties between the two countries that the lawmakers cite to Wright: enhanced energy viability, job creation in America, reinforced supply chains, and meeting rising power demands.

“South Korea’s nuclear industry can reinforce U.S. supply chains, ensuring reliability and stability for American nuclear projects,” they wrote. “This effort would build on Secretary of State Rubio’s recent Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation (NCMOU), signed with Malaysia.”