Seoul will strengthen its monitoring of nuclear power.

In a meeting Friday attended by Science and Technology Minister Oh Myung, government and ruling party officials agreed to pass a revised bill on the use of atomic energy at next month's extra-parliamentary session.

The revised bill calls for granting independent status to the National Nuclear Management & Control Agency, currently an arm of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, to bolster research and education capabilities and enhance transparency and reliability.

The measure comes in the wake of last year's scandal in which past nuclear experiments by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute were misinterpreted by foreign countries as indications of Seoul's nuclear ambitions.