India, South Korea agree on civil nuclear pact

In its ninth pact since getting the NSG waiver in 2008, New Delhi has reached an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with South Korea.

This announcement comes after prime minister Manmohan Singh's  meeting with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak yesterday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon told reporters after the meeting that the two countries had finalised an agreement on cooperation in civil uses of nuclear energy, which is now awaiting signature.

Korea will be the ninth country after the US, France, Russia, Canada, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Namibia with which India will be signing the nuclear agreement after it got the waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) in 2008.

According to the NSA, the two countries had made considerable progress in various aspects of the relations, including civil aviation and space.

Discussing several issues relating to G-20, the two leaders stressed that it was important not only to take decisions but to also have a system for implementation so that they are carried forward over several years.