South Korea and the United States began extended negotiations on Monday on renewing their civilian nuclear pact, with Seoul pushing for the right to produce its own nuclear fuel. According to South Korea’s Yonhap, in the talks with US Assistant Secretary for International Security and Non-proliferation Thomas Countryman, Park Ro-Byug, Seoul's chief negotiator said that the US-South Korea alliance is crucial for peace and stability in Northeast Asia and hoped that “the status of the linchpin role would be reflected in revising our agreement”. Countryman said Washington was committed to finding technical and economic solutions that enhance the relations. The current accord which was originally signed in 1974, had been due to expire in 2014 prohibits South Korea to recycle used nuclear fuel in the US reactors in South Korea or enriched uranium in South Korea’s power plants. Both sides agreed on extending the term of validity two more years until March 2016.