TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTS SERIES 12-918 

________________________________________________________________________ 

NUCLEAR SAFETY 

 Arrangement Between the 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

and the REPUBLIC OF KOREA 

Signed at Vienna September 18, 2012 

with 

Addenda 
 NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

 Pursuant to Public Law 89—497, approved July 8, 1966 

(80 Stat. 271; 1 U.S.C. 113)—

“. . .the Treaties and Other International Acts Series issued 

under the authority of the Secretary of State shall be competent 

 evidence . . . of the treaties, international agreements other than 

treaties, and proclamations by the President of such treaties and 

international agreements other than treaties, as the case may be, 

therein contained, in all the courts of law and equity and of maritime 

jurisdiction, and in all the tribunals and public offices of the 

United States, and of the several States, without any further proof 

or authentication thereof.” 
REPUBLIC OF KOREA 

Nuclear Safety 

 Arrangement signed at Vienna 

 September 18, 2012; 

 Entered into force September 18, 2012. 

 With addenda. 

 
ARRANGEMENT

BETWEEN

THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

AND

THE NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMISSION OF

THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

FOR THE EXCHANGE OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION

AND

COOPERATION IN NUCLEAR SAFETY MATTERS

September 18, 2012
ARRANGEMENT

BETWEEN

THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

AND

THE NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMISSION

OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

FOR THE EXCHANGE OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION

AND

COOPERATION IN NUCLEAR SAFETY MATTERS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States of America (hereinafter called

the USNRC), and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission of the Republic of Korea

(hereinafter called the NSSC); both hereinafter referred to as the Parties;

Having a mutual interest in a continuing exchange of information pertaining to regulatory

matters and of standards required or recommended by their organizations for the regulation of

safety and environmental impact of nuclear facilities;

Having in mind the spirit of mutual cooperation of the Agreement for Cooperation Between

the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the United States of America

Concerning Civil Uses of Atomic Energy done at Washington on November 24, 1972, and

amended on May 15, 1974;

Have agreed as follows:
I. SCOPE OF THE ARRANGEMENT

A. Technical Information Exchange

To the extent that the Parties are permitted to do so under the laws, regulations,

and policy directives of their respective countries, they will exchange the following

types of unclassified technical information relating to the regulation of safety,

safeguards, physical protection, waste management, radiological safety, and

environmental impact of designated nuclear energy facilities and to nuclear safety

research programs:

1. Topical reports concerning safety, safeguards, physical protection, waste

management, radiological safety, and environmental effects written by or

for one of the Parties as a basis for, or in support of, regulatory decisions

and policies.

2. Documents relating to significant licensing actions and safety and

environmental decisions affecting nuclear facilities.

3. Detailed documents describing the USNRC process for licensing and

regulating certain U.S. facilities designated by the NSSC as similar to

certain facilities being built or planned in the Republic of Korea and

equivalent documents on such facilities owned by the Republic of Korea.

4. Information in the field of reactor safety research that the Parties have the

right to disclose, either in the possession of one of the Parties or available

to it, including light water reactor safety information from the technical

areas described in Addenda "A" and "B", attached hereto and made

integral parts of this Arrangement. Cooperation in these itemized research

areas may require a separate agreement, as determined to be necessary

by the research organizations of one or both of the Parties. Each Party will

transmit immediately to the other information concerning research results

that requires early attention in the interest of public safety, along with an

indication of significant implications.

5. Reports on operating experience, such as reports on nuclear incidents,

accidents and shutdowns, and compilations of historical reliability data on

components and systems.

6. Regulatory procedures for the safety, safeguards, physical protection,

waste management, radiological safety, and environmental impact

evaluation of nuclear facilities.

7. Early advice of important events, such as serious operating incidents,

government-directed reactor shutdowns, and emerging technical issues,

that are of immediate interest to the Parties.
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B. Cooperation in Nuclear Safety Research 

The terms of cooperation for joint programS and projects of nuclear safety research

and development, or those programs and projects under which activities are

divided between the two Parties, including the use of test facilities and/or computer

programs owned by either Party, will be considered on a case-by-case basis and

may be the subject of a separate letter of agreement, if determined to be

necessary by the research organizations of one or both of the Parties. When not

the subject of a separate agreement, the terms of cooperation may be established

by an exchange of letters between the research organizations of the Parties, and

will be subject to the terms and conditions of the present Arrangement.

Technical areas specified by such exchanges of letters may be modified

subsequently by mutual consent. Temporary assignments of personnel by one

Party in the other Party's Agency will also be considered on a case-by-case basis

and will, in general, require a separate letter of agreement between the research

organizations of the Parties.

C. Training and Assignments

Within the limits of available resources and subject to the availability of

appropriated funds, the Parties will cooperate in providing certain training and

experience for safety personnel of the Parties. Unless otherwise agreed, costs of

salary, allowances, and travel of participants will be paid by the sending country.

The following are typical of, but not necessarily exclusive of, the kinds of training

and experience that may be provided:

1. One Party's designated inspector accompaniment of the other Party's

inspectors on reactor operation and reactor construction inspection visits in

the United States and the Republic of Korea, including extended briefings

at regional inspection offices.

2. Participation by one Party's employees in the other Party's staff training

courses.

3. Assignment of one Party's experts for certain periods to be determined by

the Parties within the staff of the other Party to work on staff duties of the

Parties and gain on the job experience.

4. Training assignments of the Parties within the radiation control program in

the United States and Republic of Korea.
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II. ADMINISTRATION

A. The exchange of information under this Arrangement will be accomplished through

letters, reports, and other documents, and by visits and meetings arranged in

advance on a case-by-case basis. Annual meetings will be held at such times as

mutually agreed to review the exchange of information and cooperation under this

Arrangement, to recommend revisions to the provisions of the Arrangement, and

to discuss topics coming within the scope of the cooperation. The time, place, and

agenda for such meetings will be agreed upon in advance. Visits which take place

under the Arrangement, including their schedules, will. have the prior approval of

the administrators referred to in paragraph 11.B.

B. An administrator will be designated by each Party to coordinate its participation in

the overall exchange under this Arrangement. The administrators will be the

recipients of all documents transmitted under the exchange, including copies of all

letters unless otherwise agreed. Within the terms of the exchange, the

administrators will be responsible for developing the scope of the exchange,

including agreement on the designation of the nuclear energy facilities subject to

the exchange, and on specific documents and standards to be exchanged. One or

more technical coordinators may be appointed as direct contacts for specific

disciplinary areas. These technical coordinators will ensure that both

administrators receive copies of all transmittals. These detailed arrangements are

intended to ensure, among other things, that a reasonably balanced exchange

giving access to equivalent available information is achieved and maintained.

C. The administrators will determine the number of copies to be provided of the

documents exchanged. Each document will be accompanied by an abstract in

English, 250 words or less, describing its scope and content.

D. The application or use of any information exchanged or transferred between the

Parties under this Arrangement will be the responsibility of the receiving Party, and

the transmitting Party does not warrant the suitability of such information for any

particular use or application. •

E. Recognizing that some information of the type covered in this Arrangement is not

available within the agencies that are Parties to this Arrangement, but is available

from other agencies of the governments of the Parties, each Party will assist the

other to the maximum extent possible by organizing visits and directing inquiries

concerning such information to appropriate agencies of the government

concerned. The foregoing will not constitute a commitment of other agencies to

furnish such information or to receive such visitors.
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III. EXCHANGE AND USE OF INFORMATION

A. General 

The Parties support the widest possible dissemination of information provided or

exchanged under this Arrangement, subject to the requirements of each Party's

national laws, regulations and policies and the need to protect proprietary and

other confidential or privileged information, and subject to the provisions of the

Intellectual Property Rights Annex, which is an integral part of this Arrangement.

B. Definitions

1. The term "information" means unclassified nuclear energy-related regulatory,

safety, safeguards, waste management, scientific or technical data, including

information on results or methods of assessment, research, and any other

knowledge provided, created or exchanged under this Arrangement.

2. The term "proprietary information" means information made available under this

Arrangement that contains trade secrets or other privileged or confidential

commercial information (such that the person having the information may derive

a commercial benefit from it or may have a commercial advantage over those who

do not have it), and may only include information that:

a. has been held in confidence by its owner;

b. has not been transmitted by the owner to other entities (including the

receiving Party), except on the basis that it be held in confidence;

c. is not otherwise available to the receiving Party from another source

without restriction on its further dissemination; and

d. is not already in the possession of the receiving Party.

3. The term "other confidential or privileged information" means information, other

than "proprietary information," that has been transmitted and received in

confidence under this Arrangement and is protected from public disclosure under

the laws, regulations, or policies of the country of the Party providing the

information.

C. Marking Procedures for Documentary Proprietary Information

A Party receiving documentary proprietary information pursuant to this

Arrangement will respect the privileged nature of such information, provided that

such proprietary information is clearly marked with the following (or substantially

similar) restrictive legend:

"This document contains proprietary information furnished in

confidence under an Arrangement dated September 18 th , 2012,

between the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) of

Republic of Korea and the United States Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (USNRC) will not be disseminated outside these

organizations, their consultants, contractors, and licensees, or

concerned departments and agencies of the Government of the
6

Republic of Korea and the Government of the of the United States

without the prior written approval of (name of transmitting Party).

This notice will be marked on each page of any reproduction hereof,

in whole or in part. These limitations will automatically terminate

when the proprietary information is disclosed by the owner. without

restriction."

This restrictive legend will be respected by the Parties to this Arrangement.

Proprietary information bearing this restrictive legend will not be made public or

otherwise disseminated in any manner unspecified or contrary to the terms of this

Arrangement without the prior written consent of the transmitting Party.

Proprietary information bearing this restrictive legend will not be used by the

receiving Party or its contractors and consultants for any commercial purposes

without the prior written consent of the transmitting Party.

D. Dissemination of Documentary Proprietary Information

1. In general, proprietary information received under this Arrangement may be

disseminated by the receiving Party without prior consent to persons within

or employed by the receiving Party, and to concerned Government

departments and Government agencies in the country of the receiving

Party, provided:

a. such dissemination is made on a case-by-case basis; and

b. such proprietary information bears the restrictive legend appearing

in Section III.C. of this Arrangement.

2. Proprietary information received under this Arrangement may be

disseminated by the receiving Party without prior consent to contractors and

consultants of the receiving Party located within the geographical limits of

that Party's country provided:

a. that the proprietary information is used by such contractors and

consultants only for work within the scope of their contracts with the

receiving Party relating to the subject matter of the proprietary

information, and will not be used by such contractors and consultants

for any other private commercial purposes;

b. that such dissemination is made on a case-by-case basis to

contractors and consultants who have executed a non-disclosure

agreement; and

c. that such proprietary information will bear the restrictive legend

appearing in Section III.C. of this Arrangement.

3. With the prior written consent of the Party furnishing proprietary

information under this Arrangement, the receiving Party may disseminate

such proprietary information more widely than otherwise permitted under

the terms set forth in this Arrangement. The Parties will endeavor to grant
7

such approval to the extent permitted by their respective national laws,

regulations and policies, provided:

a. that the entities receiving proprietary information under Section

III.D.3. of this Arrangement, including domestic organizations

permitted or licensed by the receiving Party to construct or operate

nuclear production or utilization facilities, or to use nuclear and

materials radiation sources, have executed a non-disclosure

agreement;

b. that the entities receiving proprietary information under Section

III.D.3. of this Arrangement, including domestic organizations

permitted or licensed by the receiving Party to construct or operate

nuclear production or utilization facilities, will not use such

proprietary information for any private commercial purposes; and

c. that those entities receiving proprietary information under Section

III.D.3. of this Arrangement that are domestic organizations permitted

or licensed by the receiving Party, agree to use the proprietary

information only for activities carried out under or within the terms of

their specific permit or license.

E. Marking.Procedures for Other Confidential or Privileged Information of a

Documentary Nature 

A Party receiving under this Arrangement other confidential or privileged

information will respect its confidential nature, provided such information is clearly

marked so as to indicate its confidential or privileged nature and is accompanied

by a statement indicating:

1. that the information is protected from public disclosure by the government

of the transmitting Party; and

2. that the information is transmitted under the condition that it be maintained

in confidence.

F Dissemination of Other Confidential or Privileged Information of a Documentary

Nature 

Other confidential or privileged information may be disseminated in the same

manner as that set forth in Section III.D, "Dissemination of Documentary

Proprietary Information."
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G. Non-Documentary Proprietary or Other Confidential or Privileged Information 

Non-documentary proprietary or other confidential or privileged information

provided in seminars and other meetings organized under this Arrangement, or

information arisin•frorp the attachments of staff; use of facilities, or joint projects,

will be treated by thet'arties according to the principles specified for documentary

information in this Arrangement; provided, however, that the Party communicating

such proprietary or othèr confidential or privileged information has placed the

recipient on notice as to the character of the information communicated.

H. Consultation 

If, for any reason, one of the Parties becomes aware that it will be, or may

reasonably be expected to become, unable to meet the non-dissemination

provisions of this Arrangement, it will immediately inform the other Party. The

Parties will thereafter consult to define an appropriate course of action.

I. Other

Nothing contained in this Arrangement will preclude a Party from using or

disseminating information received without restriction by a Party from sources

outside of this Arrangement.

IV. FINAL PROVISIONS

A. Nothing contained in this Arrangement will require either Party to take any action

that would be inconsistent with its existing laws, regulations, or policy directives.

Should any conflict arise between the terms of this Arrangement and those laws,

regulations, or policy directives, the Parties agree to consult before any action is

taken. No nuclear information related to proliferation-sensitive technologies will be

exchanged under this Arrangement.

B. Unless otherwise agreed, all costs resulting from cooperation pursuant to this

Arrangement will be the responsibility of the Party that incurs them. The ability of

the Parties to carry out their obligations is subject to the appropriation of funds by

the appropriate governmental authority and to policies, laws and regulations

applicable to the Parties.

C. Cooperation under this Arrangement will be in accordance with the laws and

regulations of their respective countries. Any dispute or questions between the

Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Arrangement will be

settled by mutual agreement of the Parties.

D. This Arrangement will enter into force upon signature and, subject to paragraph E

of this Section, will remain in force for a period of five years. It may be extended for

a further period of time by written agreement of the Parties.
PERT IED A3UE

Office of
Addendum A

NRC-NSSC Safety Research Exchange

Areas in Which the NRC Is Performing or Sponsoring Safety Research 

1. Digital Instrumentation and Control

2. Reactor and Electrical Equipment Qualification

3. Environmental Transport

4. Radionuclide Transport and Waste Management

5. Dry Cask Storage and Transport

6. Fire Safety Research

7. Nuclear Fuel Analysis

8. Severe Accident Analysis

9. Operating Experience and Generic Issues

10. Human Factors Engineering

11. Organizational Factors/Safety Culture

12. Human Reliability Analysis (HRA)

13. Probabilistic Risk Assessments

14. Radiation Protection and Health Effects

15. Seismic Safety

16. State of the Art Risk Consequences

17. Reactor Containment Structural Safety

18. Reactor Vessel and Piping Integrity

19. Regulatory Guide Update

20. New and Advanced Reactor Designs

21. Decommissioning

22. Thermal Hydraulic Code Applications and Maintenance

23. Uncertainty Analysis for Thermal Hydraulic Kinetics

24. Coupled 3D Neutronic and Plant Thermal Hydraulics

25. Medical Isotope Production

26. Long-term Operational Management

27. Plant and Systems Operations
Addendum B

NRC-NSSC Safety Research Exchange

Areas in Which the NSSC Is Performing or Sponsoring Safety Research 

1. Regulatory Research on Nuclear Safety

• Risk-informed Regulation

• Plant Aging and Life Extension

• Accident Analysis

• Severe Accident Evaluation

• Digital Instrumentation and Control

• Structural Integrity and Seismic Safety

• Regulatory Effectiveness

• Code & Standard

2. Regulatory Research on Radiation and the Environment

• Radiation Protection

• Radioactive Waste Management

• Environmental Protection and Emergency Preparedness

• Radiation Monitoring and Survey

• Electric Motor Condition Monitoring

3. Aircraft Impact Assessments

4. Advanced Reactor Designs (VHTR and SFR)

5. Spent Fuel Management

6. Interface between Safety and Security

7. Cyber Security Plan

8. Transportation Security Plan

9. Performance based Regulation

10. Nuclear Forensics

11. Force on Force Implementation
Intellectual Property Rights Annex

I. General Obligation

The Parties will ensure adequate and effective protection of intellectual property

created or furnished under this Arrangement and relevant implementing arrangements.

Rights to such intellectual property will be' allocated as provided in this Annex.

II. Scope

A. This Annex is applicable to all cooperative activities undertaken pursuant to this

Arrangement, except as otherwise specifically agreed by the Parties or their

designees.

B. For purposes of this Arrangement, "intellectual property" will mean the subject

matter listed in Article 2 of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual

Property Organization, done at Stockholm, July 14, 1967 and may include other

subject matter as agreed by the Parties.

Each Party will ensure, through contracts or other legal means with its own

participants, if necessary, that the other Party can obtain the rights to intellectual

property allocated in accordance with this Annex. This Annex does not otherwise

alter or prejudice the allocation between a Party and its nationals, which will I be

determined by that Party's laws and practices.

D. Except as otherwise provided in this Arrangement, disputes concerning intellectual

property arising under this Arrangement will be resolved through discussions

between the concerned participating institutions, or, if necessary, the Parties or

their designees. Upon mutual Arrangement of the Parties, a dispute will be

submitted to an arbitral tribunal for binding arbitration in accordance with the

applicable rules of international law. Unless the Parties or their designees agree

otherwise in writing, the arbitration rules of UNCITRAL will govern.

E. Termination or expiration of this Arrangement will not affect rights or obligations

under this Annex.

Ill. Allocation of Rights

A. Each Party will be entitled to a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in all

countries to translate, reproduce, and publicly distribute scientific and technical

journal articles, reports, and books directly arising from cooperation under this

Arrangement. All publicly distributed copies of a copyrighted work prepared under

this provision will indicate the names of the authors of the work unless an author

explicitly declines to be named.

B. Rights to all forms of intellectual property, other than those rights described in

paragraph III.A. above, will be allocated as follows:

(1) Visiting researchers will receive rights, awards, bonuses and royalties in

accordance with the policies of the host institution.
(2) (a) Any intellectual property created by persons employed or

sponsored by one Party under cooperative activities other than

those covered by paragraph III.(B)(1) will be owned by that Party.

Intellectual property created by persons employed or sponsored by

both Parties will be jointly owned by the Parties. In addition, each

creator will be entitled to awards, bonuses and royalties in

accordance with the policies of the institution employing or

sponsoring that person.

(b) Unless otherwise agreed in an implementing or other arrangement,

each Party will have within its territory a right to exploit or license

intellectual property created in the course of the cooperative

activities.

(c) The rights of a Party outside its territory will be determined by

mutual Arrangement considering the relative contributions of the

Parties and their participants to the cooperative activities, the

degree of commitment in obtaining legal protection and licensing of

the intellectual property and such other factors deemed

appropriate.

(d) Notwithstanding paragraphs III.B(2)(a) and (b) above, if either Party

believes that a particular project is likely to lead to or has led to the

creation of intellectual property not protected by the laws of the

other Party, the Parties will immediately hold discussions to

determine the allocation of rights to the intellectual property. If an

Arrangement cannot be reached within three months of the date of

the initiation of the discussions, cooperation on the project in

question will be terminated at the request of either Party. Creators

of intellectual property will nonetheless be entitled to awards,

bonuses and royalties as provided in paragraph III.B(2)(a).

(e) For each invention made under any cooperative activity, the Party

employing or sponsoring the inventor(s) will disclose the invention

promptly to the other Party together with any documentation and

information necessary to enable the other Party to establish any

rights to which it may be entitled. Either Party may ask the other

Party in writing to delay publication or public disclosure of such

documentation or information for the purpose of protecting its rights

in the invention. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the delay will

not exceed a period of six months from the date of disclosure by the

inventing Party to the other Party.

IV. Business Confidential Information

In the event that information identified in a timely fashion as business-confidential is

furnished or created under this Arrangement, each Party and its participants will protect

such information in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and administrative

practices. Information may be identified as "business-confidential" if a person having the
information may derive an economic benefit from it or may obtain a competitive

advantage over those who do not have it, and the information is not generally known or

publicly available from other sources, and the owner has not previously made the

information available without imposing in a timely manner an obligation to keep it

confidential.