South Korea and Russia have failed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on joint research aimed at linking the two countries’ power systems via North Korea.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) said Friday that it and Russia’s state-run power company, Inter RAO UES, had planned to have the agreement signed by Thursday, but the signing was canceled due to unidentified problems on the Russian side.

The corporation said it is trying to determine the reason for the cancellation, adding that Moscow notified Seoul of its decision not to sign through a diplomatic channel.

The proposed connection of the two nations’ electrical power systems was expected to spur more efficient distribution of electricity during times of high energy demand.

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