The approval of a two-year extension to a cooperation text between the USA and South Korea could enable the countries to conclude a mutually beneficial successor agreement for the long term, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

A Mississippi business group has formally urged the state's senate to consider establishing a dedicated management centre to provide interim storage for used nuclear fuel, with a longer-term view to recycling and even final disposal.

Three US business associations have directly asked the US administration to adopt a more assertive approach to fostering international nuclear trade, urging expedited conclusion of bilateral cooperation agreements and a "pragmatic" approach to uranium enrichment and reprocessing.

French nuclear company Areva is to work with Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd to bring the Rokkasho-mura recycling plant into commercial operation under a new strategic agreement. Franco-Japanese partnerships have been further strengthened by the signature of a cooperation between Areva and Atox.

China is to reprocess used reactor fuel at a plant supplied by Areva, according to a letter of intent signed in Beijing yesterday. Areva said it was a milestone that represented a signature on part of a contract for sale.

Decisions on the future of South Korea's fuel cycle have been put off for another two years. The country wants to recycle and reprocess used reactor fuel but requires American consent.

A series of exchanges has seen the UK take control of three tonnes of plutonium it had been storing for foreign firms. The country's goal is to use plutonium stocks as reactor fuel for power generation.

A tender for the construction of a fuel reprocessing demonstration plant at Zheleznogorsk for the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel has been announced by Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Two major radioactive shipments have taken place in Europe. Used reactor fuel went from Italy to France for reprocessing, while vitrified waste from the same process left the UK to return to Japan.

France had an inventory of radioactive wastes totalling some 1.32 million cubic metres in 2010, according to the latest data released by the national radioactive waste management agency Andra. This is a 12.9% increase from the 1.15 million cubic metres in 2007.

A series of title swaps has seen the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority take ownership of four tonnes of German plutonium. The commercial deal will enhance international nuclear security as well as earning revenue, the UK government says.