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2 July 2003 - South Korea has joined a large-scale magnetic fusion reactor project known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the Ministry of Science and Technology said Wednesday.
The six project members accepted Wednesday Korea's request for participation in the fusion program, said the ministry, adding it is scrutinizing various tasks related to its involvement.
Last month, the ministry sent a mission to the Austrian capital of Vienna for its first meeting with the six members and discussion of pending issues, including the selection of building sites, sharing of expenses and the formation of an executive board, in an effort to join the group.
The ministry plans to convey its position on other issues such as formation of an ITER secretariat and supply of items to the project at an ITER delegation meeting slated for July 22-29 in Tokyo, Japan.
ITER participants plan to finalize the plans at the end of this year and then have them approved by each member's parliament.
Spain, France and Japan are competing to be the site of the reactor, pledging to defray 30-40 per cent of the costs.
The ITER, which aims to produce clean, safe, renewable and commercially-available fusion energy, could begin construction in 2005 and be operational by 2014. The construction cost is estimated to reach $5bn.
The six members, namely the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Russia and China, have been negotiating the ITER's construction and operation since last year.
The ministry expects the country to pay 10 per cent of the total cost, or $500 million, for involvement in the project.
The South Korean government believes fusion is a key element in the country's long-term energy plans because it offers the potential for plentiful, safe and environmentally friendly energy.
Fusion is the energy source powering the sun and stars. In fusion, the nuclei of light elements, such as hydrogen, fuse together to make heavier elements, such as helium, giving off tremendous amounts of energy.
The ITER will be the first fusion device to produce burning plasma and to operate at a high power level for long-duration experiments. Fusion power produced in the ITER plasma will be 10 times greater than the external power added to the plasma.
The next-generation energy is expected to be commercially used in the 2030s.
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