The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan, and the US inked a memorandum of cooperation on small modular reactors during the NATO summit in Ankara, according to a statement by the Korean foreign ministry on Tuesday.

The pact sets up a trilateral framework to speed up SMR deployment, starting in the Indo-Pacific and expanding to other nations.

By combining their civilian nuclear strengths, the three countries aim to cut business risks, boost private funding, streamline licensing, and optimize supply chains.

This collaboration provides firms in these countries with more competitive options to meet regional energy needs while upholding top nuclear safety, security, and non-proliferation standards, the ministry said.