Prime Minister Chung Un-chan on Thursday said South Korea will develop advanced technology for recycling nuclear fuel that can radically reduce the amount of waste. It was a thinly veiled announcement that South Korea intends to pursue the technology to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, from which it is banned under a decades-old agreement with the U.S.

Each year, the 20 nuclear power plants here produce around 700 tons of nuclear waste. More than 90 percent of that waste could be reused as energy through reprocessing, but Seoul is banned from reprocessing spent fuel rods under the nuclear agreement with the U.S. As a result, spent nuclear fuel is stored in temporary water tanks near the nuclear plants, but they are expected to reach full capacity around 2016. Korea has no choice but to seek to acquire the technology to reprocess spent nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes.

But the U.S. strongly opposes this. Washington fears South Korea may end up acquiring nuclear weapons by producing plutonium through reprocessing, and these fears are amplified by North Korea's two nuclear tests. The U.S. feels it cannot allow only South Korea to acquire the technology to reprocess nuclear fuel as it seeks to get North Korea to scrap its nuclear program. It is not easy to fault Washington's logic. This is going to be the great test facing the Korea-U.S. alliance as the nuclear agreement expires in March 2014.

And recently, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said the transfer of full operational troop control from the U.S. to Seoul in 2012 is a "worst-case scenario." But Walter Sharp, commander of U.S. forces in Korea, on Thursday reiterated he is "confident" that the transfer will be completed smoothly on schedule. Even Korea experts in Washington are criticizing the transfer and dismantling of the Combined Forces Command, saying the move could endanger the South's security, and have asked the U.S. government to take another look at the move.

Only the Pentagon seems to be saying that there is no problem with the handover. Such conflicting opinions over a matter involving the survival of the nation can only stoke fears among its people and might also encourage North Korea to become reckless. It is time for South Korea and the U.S. to discuss frankly whether the handover, set to take place on April 17, 2012, is realistic.

Both the handover and the revision of the nuclear accord are laden with obstacles. But they are not insurmountable if both sides go into the talks with sincerity. The negotiations may actually serve as opportunities to affirm the strength of the alliance.