Korea signs nuclear MOU with Turkey

South Korea and Turkey have signed an agreement to cooperate in nuclear projects. The former had been bidding to build for Turkish power plants and the agreement is seen as a step towards that direction. The plant is worth an estimated $10 billion.

President Lee Myung-Bak and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul agreed to expand "substantial cooperation in various fields" such as trade, investment, energy, construction and the defence industry, Lee's office said.

The leaders also attended a ceremony at which their energy ministers signed the memorandum of understanding on nuclear cooperation.

The two countries’ energy ministers signed the MOU to work together on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Sinop, following an agreement signed in March between their state-run firms.

State firms from the two countries forged a preliminary deal in March to build a nuclear power plant at Sinop on Turkey's Black Sea coast.

However, the March deal was no guarantee that the South Koreans would win the project as Turkey had announced that they are still open to better terms.

KEPCO and Turkey's state-owned Electricity Generation have begun detailed studies for the plant at Sinop.