• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.383-395
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• 2023

Since 1997, the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been developing pyro-processing (Pyro) technology to reduce the disposal burden of high-level radioactive waste by recycling spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Compared to plutonium and uranium extraction process, Korean Pyro technology has relatively excellent proliferation resistance that cannot separate pure plutonium owing to its intrinsic characteristics. Regarding Pyro technology development of ROK, the Bush administration considered that Pyro is not reprocessing under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, whereas the Obama administration considered that Pyro is subject to reprocessing. However, the Bush and Obama administrations did not allow ROK to conduct full Pyro activities using SNF, even though ROK had faithfully complied with international nonproliferation obligations. This is because the US nuclear nonproliferation policy to prevent the spread of sensitive technologies, such as enrichment and reprocessing, has a strong effect on ROK, unlike Japan, on a bilateral level beyond the NPT regime for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2005년도 춘계 학술대회
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• pp.56-66
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• 2005

In response to the increasing emphasis being placed on the importance of international cooperation as part of global efforts to cope with growing non proliferation, and security, concerns in the nuclear field, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, appointed an international group of experts to consider possible multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle. The mandate of the Expert Group was three fold: ${\bullet}$ To identify and provide an analysis of issues and options relevant to multilateral approaches to the front and back ends of the nuclear fuel cycle; ${\bullet}$ To provide an overview of the policy, legal, security, economic, institutional and technological incentives and disincentives for cooperation in multilateral arrangements for the front and back ends of the nuclear fuel cycle; and ${\bullet}$ To provide a brief review of the historical and current experiences and analyses relating to multilateral fuel cycle arrangements relevant to the work of the Expert Group. The overall purpose was to assess MNAs in the framework of a double objective: strengthening the international nuclear non proliferation regime and making the peaceful uses of nuclear energy more economical and attractive. The Group identifies options for MNAs - options in terms of policy, institutional and legal factors - for those parts of the nuclear fuel cycle of greatest sensitivity from the point of view of proliferation risk. It also reflects the Groups deliberations on the corresponding benefits and disadvantages (pros and cons) of the various options and approaches. Although the Expert Group was able to agree to forward the resulting report to the Director General, it is important to note that the report does not reflect agreement by all of the experts on any of the options, nor a consensus assessment of their respective value. It is intended only to present options for MNAs, and to reflect on the range of considerations which could impact on the desirability and feasibility of those options.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제40권7호
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• pp.581-592
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• 2008

In this study, a conceptual pyroprocess flowsheet has been devised by combining several dry-type unit processes; its applicability as an alternative fuel cycle technology was analyzed. A key point in the evaluation of its applicability to the fuel cycle was the recovery yield of fissile materials from spent fuels as well as the proliferation resistance of the process. The recovery yields of uranium and transuranic elements (TRU) were obtained from a material balance for every unit process composing the whole pyroprocess. The material balances for several elemental groups of interest such as uranium, TRU, rare earth, gaseous fission products, and heat generating elements were calculated on the basis of the knowledge base that is available from domestic and foreign experimental results or technical information presented in open literature. The calculated result of the material balance revealed that uranium and TRU could be recovered at 98.0% and 97.0%, respectively, from a typical PWR spent fuel. Furthermore, the anticipated TRU product was found to emit a non-negligible level of $\gamma$-ray and a significantly higher level of neutrons compared to that of a typical plutonium product obtained from the PUREX process. The results indicate that the product from this conceptual pyroprocessing should be handled in a shielded cell and that this will contribute favorably to retaining proliferation resistance.

• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2018년도 추계학술논문요약집
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• pp.49-50
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• 2018

• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2017년도 추계학술논문요약집
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• pp.41-42
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• 2017

• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2011년도 추계학술논문요약집
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• pp.503-504
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• 2011

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권6호
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• pp.1955-1963
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• 2021

As the IAEA has applied integrated safeguards and a state level approach to member states, the importance of national inspection has increased. However, the requirements for national inspection for some member states are different from the IAEA safeguards. In particular, the national inspection for the ROK requires on-site U concentration analysis due to a domestic notification. This research proposes an on-site U concentration analysis (OUCA) method for UO₂ pellets using gamma spectroscopy to satisfy the domestic notification requirement. The OUCA method calculates the U concentration of UO₂ pellets using the measured net X-ray counts and declared ²³⁵U enrichment. This research demonstrates the feasibility of the OUCA method using both MCNP simulation and experiment. It simulated and measured the net X-ray counts of different UO₂ pellets with different U concentrations and ²³⁵U enrichments. The simulated and measured net X-ray counts were fitted to polynomials as a function of U concentration and ²³⁵U enrichment. The goodness-of-fit results of both simulation and experiment demonstrated the feasibility of the OUCA method.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.421-433
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• 2021

The present multidisciplinary study, which is a nexus of engineering and political science, investigates how the modernization of Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons (NSNWs) affects the IAEA safeguards system based on the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons. To this end, this study examines the characteristics of modernized NSNWs using Monte Carlo techniques. The results thus obtained show that 10 kt NSNWs with a Circular Error Probability (CEP) of 10 m can destroy the target as effectively as a 500 kt weapon with a CEP of 100 m. The IAEA safeguards system shows that the Significant Quantity (SQ) of 1 of plutonium is 8 kg, a parameter that was established when strategic nuclear weapons were dominant. However, the results of this study indicate that in recent years, low-yield nuclear weapons such as NSNWs have been more strategically interesting than strategic nuclear weapons as NSNWs require less plutonium than strategic nuclear weapons. Therefore, we would like to conclude that reducing the SQ of plutonium can result in more robust safeguards and non-proliferation strategies.

• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2018년도 추계학술논문요약집
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• pp.51-52
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• 2018

• 항공우주정책ㆍ법학회지
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.219-246
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• 2017

핵문제는 국제레짐(resime)의 지구화를 보여주는 좋은 예이다. 1945년 8월 일본에 최초로 핵폭탄이 투하되면서 핵무기가 인류를 절멸시킬 수 있다는 역사를 통해 평화에 대한 갈망은 더욱 절실해졌다. 자국의 안보를 위한 군비증강은 국제사회에서 자존의 문제이지만, UN헌장의 목적이기도 한 국제평화와 안전을 유지하기 위해 군축 또는 군비통제는 전 인류의 평화 실현과 직결된 가장 중요한 과제일 것이다. 오늘날 군축은 국제분쟁의 평화적 해결, 집단안전보장제도와 함께 국제평화와 안전을 유지 촉진하는 중요한 수단이다. 완전한 군축 실현이 항구적인 인류의 과제일 수는 있으나, NPT 서문에서 일반적이고 완전한 군축이 표현된 것처럼 국제사회는 완전 군축을 위한 노력을 천명하고 있다. 따라서 핵문제에 대한 국제레짐과 북한의 핵문제에 대한 주요 경과를 살펴봄으로써 핵문제의 지구화 현상을 소개하고, 핵 군축을 위한 국제사회의 노력을'인류의 공동유산'개념과 우주공간 평화이용위원회 및 핵무기의 통제를 중심으로 검토한 후, 대한민국과 국제법에 직결된 사안인 북한의 핵문제를 우주법 내지 군축법적인 관점에서 평가해 보고자 한다. 또한 북한의 핵문제를 위해서는 비확산 반확산정책과 함께 집단안전보장제도가 지속적으로 강조 시도되어야 할 것이다.