Among the areas for cooperation, the partnership will see the UK and Korea commit to strengthening cooperation on civil nuclear, including on large-scale, small-scale and advanced reactors, decommissioning and waste management, and supply chains.

South Korea has been expanding its nuclear energy ambitions since President Yoon Suk-yeol assumed power in May 2022 and reversed former President Moon Jae-in's policy of phasing out nuclear power.

The SMR Alliance includes 11 government and public institutions, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Korea Energy Economics Institute, as well as 31 companies, including GS Energy, SK Inc, Samsung C&T, Daewoo E&C and Doosan Enerability.

The statement was signed in Seoul on 10 April by British Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps and South Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang.

Last month, South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries announced it had completed the conceptual design for the CMSR Power Barge - a floating nuclear power plant based on compact MSRs It also obtained the basic certification of the design from the American Bureau of Shipping.

KEPCO CEO Seung-il Jeong presented the proposal to Fatih Dönmez, Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, on 30 January during a meeting in which they discussed plans for KEPCO to participate in the nuclear power plant project.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also decided to invest $30bn in South Korea's industries, South Korea's presidential office said.

In July, the government laid out a new energy policy which aims to maintain nuclear's share of the country's energy mix at a minimum of 30% by 2030.

Seaborg's design is for modular CMSR power barges that can produce between 200 MW and 800 MW of electricity, with an operational life of 24 years.

Aramco is making its biggest ever investment in South Korea to develop one of the world’s largest refinery-integrated petrochemical steam crackers through its S-OIL affiliate, in line with the company’s strategy to maximize the crude to chemicals value chain.