The French delegation composed of experts from FAF(French Atomic Forum), CEA, AREVA, ALSTOM, etc, visited KAERI on October 18. They came to visit  Korea to participated at the 7th KAIF-FAF Seminar on Nuclear Industry, organized by the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum and French Atomic Forum which has been held alternately in Seoul and Paris.

In the meeting, Dr. K. Y, Jee, Senior Vice President for R&D Program, emphasized the importance of international partnership and collaboration in seeking ways to strengthen nuclear safety which is more urgently required than ever before in the wake of Fukushima accident. Dr. Jee introduced KAERI’s plan to strengthen various researches on improving the cooling performance of NPPs, upgrading the capability to cope with severe accidents, conducting risk assessments resulting from external factors such as natural disasters, and evaluating the dispersion of radioactive materials.

Mr. Philippe Garderet, Chairman of FAF, introduced the activities France has conducted following the Fukushima accident including peer reviews on nuclear power plants, promotion of public acceptance. He noted that continuous development of nuclear safety enhancement technology will be one of sure-fire ways to  ensure the sustainable development of  nuclear energy.

A meeting  between KAERI vice presidents and Dr. Daniel Iracane, Deputy Director for international Affairs at CEA, was separately held while French delegation made a technical tour of KAERI facilities; HANARO research reactor and ATLAS . KAERI and CEA discussed a wide range of issues, including SFR, JHR, Research Reactor, Nuclear Safety and renewing KAERI-CEA Framework Agreement.

The KAIF-FAF seminar has been a very useful platform as experts from both countries made presentations on a wide range of nuclear energy issues such as Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants, Design, Engineering & Construction of NPPs, Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology, Advanced Nuclear Technology and Radioactive Waste Management.