In an interview with India's state-run Doordarshan TV broadcast Wednesday, Park said: “I think that (South) Korea can become a good partner for India not only in construction and operation of nuclear reactors, but also in nuclear safety.”
Park noted that since Korea launched the commercial operation of its first nuclear power plant in 1978, no fatal nuclear accidents have been reported and the operation of nuclear reactors has been conducted stably.
The President said Korea has enhanced the safety of Korean-style nuclear reactors which have high economic feasibility.
In addition, tighter security measures have been implemented since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, she said. Fukushima was the world’s second most disastrous nuclear accident after Chernobyl which occurred in 1986.
The interview was conducted at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Jan. 9, about a week before President Park left for India for a four-day state visit, part of a weeklong trip that will also take her to Switzerland.
Park’s visit to New Delhi is focused on opening India with the world's second largest population wider to Korean businesses and laying the groundwork for Korean firms’ participation in construction projects in a nation which lacks infrastructure, aides said.
Park will hold summit talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss ways to strengthen diplomatic and security cooperation and lay the foundation for greater cooperation in science-technology and information & communication technology.
During her stay in Switzerland, President Park will hold a summit with President Didier Burkhalter Monday. They will discuss ways of expanding trade and investment, increasing cooperation in vocational education and science-technology, and global issues such as climate change, aides said.
Park will be the first South Korean head of state to make a state visit to Switzerland since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1963.
Park will then travel to the Swiss ski resort of Davos to attend the World Economic Forum (WEC), an annual meeting of global business leaders and politicians.
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