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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| South Korea and U.S. Fail to Reach Deal on Nuclear Energy | South Korea and U.S. Fail to Reach Deal on Nuclear Energy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the Obama administration delayed the deadline for a deal that Seoul had hoped would allow it to begin making its own fuel for its civil nuclear energy program, but that the United States feared would undermine its attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. | SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the Obama administration delayed the deadline for a deal that Seoul had hoped would allow it to begin making its own fuel for its civil nuclear energy program, but that the United States feared would undermine its attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. |
| It had appeared that a deal might be reached this year, but officials in both countries said the deadline would slip until 2016. | It had appeared that a deal might be reached this year, but officials in both countries said the deadline would slip until 2016. |
| The government of President Park Geun-hye has been pushing hard for the United States to lift a ban, part of a treaty signed in 1972, that prevents South Korea from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. | The government of President Park Geun-hye has been pushing hard for the United States to lift a ban, part of a treaty signed in 1972, that prevents South Korea from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. |
| But the same technologies are also used to make material for nuclear weapons. American officials have said that lifting the ban would have complicated diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear programs and to stop any attempt by Iran to develop atomic weapons. | But the same technologies are also used to make material for nuclear weapons. American officials have said that lifting the ban would have complicated diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear programs and to stop any attempt by Iran to develop atomic weapons. |
| South Korea’s push to have the ban lifted comes at a time of heightened tensions with North Korea, which was angered by United Nations sanctions imposed after its latest nuclear test and which has threatened for several weeks to attack both South Korea and the United States if provoked. Some South Koreans — including a few members of the governing party — responded to the threats by urging their country to develop its own nuclear weapons program rather than relying solely on the United States for protection. | South Korea’s push to have the ban lifted comes at a time of heightened tensions with North Korea, which was angered by United Nations sanctions imposed after its latest nuclear test and which has threatened for several weeks to attack both South Korea and the United States if provoked. Some South Koreans — including a few members of the governing party — responded to the threats by urging their country to develop its own nuclear weapons program rather than relying solely on the United States for protection. |
| Ms. Park’s government has maintained that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, but the suggestion that some South Koreans wanted to push for the bomb likely weakened Seoul’s negotiating leverage, analysts said. | |
| The United States had South Korea commit itself to the ban in a treaty when Washington transferred nuclear material and technical expertise to help build the South’s nuclear energy industry. | The United States had South Korea commit itself to the ban in a treaty when Washington transferred nuclear material and technical expertise to help build the South’s nuclear energy industry. |
| The treaty had been set to expire in March 2014, but will now be extended to 2016. Currently, South Korea imports all of its nuclear fuel. It also wanted to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to turn the waste into a new fuel for the next generation of reactors it is developing. | The treaty had been set to expire in March 2014, but will now be extended to 2016. Currently, South Korea imports all of its nuclear fuel. It also wanted to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to turn the waste into a new fuel for the next generation of reactors it is developing. |
| In a recent visit to South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry called for an agreement before a planned summit meeting between President Obama and Ms. Park on May 7. But he also suggested that lifting the ban would be difficult. | In a recent visit to South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry called for an agreement before a planned summit meeting between President Obama and Ms. Park on May 7. But he also suggested that lifting the ban would be difficult. |
| “We are at a delicate moment with respect to the situation with the North, and we are also dealing with Iran and are very concerned at this time about not having any ingredients that could alter our approach with respect to either of those,” Mr. Kerry said in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on April 12. | “We are at a delicate moment with respect to the situation with the North, and we are also dealing with Iran and are very concerned at this time about not having any ingredients that could alter our approach with respect to either of those,” Mr. Kerry said in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on April 12. |
| Ms. Park’s foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, had said the negotiations would be an important test of “trust” between the allies. | Ms. Park’s foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, had said the negotiations would be an important test of “trust” between the allies. |
| “Washington does not seem to trust South Korea as much as it reiterates blood-tight relations,” the mass-circulation newspaper JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial last Saturday, when unconfirmed reports of a delay in the deadline began to circulate. “Just because the pact has been extended for two years does not assure that the two will narrow their differences. It is merely a makeshift move to avoid a dispute.” | |
| Cho Tai-young, a spokesman for the South’s Foreign Ministry, said Wednesday that the two allies had agreed to extend the treaty to give negotiators more time to sort out “the complexity of details and technologies.” | Cho Tai-young, a spokesman for the South’s Foreign Ministry, said Wednesday that the two allies had agreed to extend the treaty to give negotiators more time to sort out “the complexity of details and technologies.” |
| Asked to identify the precise issues that had forced the delay, Patrick Ventrell, the State Department spokesman, told reporters in Washington, “I don’t think it hinges on one thing or another, other than these are very technical talks.” | Asked to identify the precise issues that had forced the delay, Patrick Ventrell, the State Department spokesman, told reporters in Washington, “I don’t think it hinges on one thing or another, other than these are very technical talks.” |
| South Korea’s dependence on atomic energy is projected to grow to 60 percent by 2030. | |
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York, and David E. Sanger from Jerusalem. | Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York, and David E. Sanger from Jerusalem. |