Analyses are increasingly being made that Korean nuclear power plant construction technology will be on par and will compete with those of the U.S., France and Japan.

The U.S. business newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said on Wednesday that French Areva, which competed with Korea until the end of the bidding for a United Arab Emirates deal, had the disadvantage of being too big and expensive, despite having more advanced technology.

On the other hand, Korean nuclear power plant technology was a little aged but cost less and was simpler. Therefore, the paper predicted that the Korean technology would compete in key markets with General Motors of the U.S., Areva of France, and Toshiba of Japan.

The paper added that this project was for the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world and, therefore, highly politically sensitive, and that Korea’s selection was particularly remarkable given the close ties between the UAE and the U.S.