SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Undeterred by a Czech judicial ruling to suspend the $18 billion tender for South Korea to construct two nuclear reactors domestically, South Korean officials on Wednesday characterized the decision as a fleeting impediment, articulating unwavering certitude that the accord would ultimately be consummated.

A South Korean consortium, spearheaded by the parastatal Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, had anticipated the consummation of the accord this week with a CEZ subsidiary, the preeminent electricity purveyor in the Czech Republic; notwithstanding, a Czech tribunal enjoined CEZ from affixing its signature to the covenant pending its deliberation upon a grievance lodged by the French firm EDF, whose tender was superseded by that of the South Koreans.

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Dukgeun, addressing the press corps in Prague, averred that the judicial determination would merely protract the formal contractual execution, and that all attendant protocols would, assuming the transaction's consummation, proceed in timely fashion; he further posited that the Czech government had evidently not foreseen the court's interlocutory injunction on the accord and that CEZ intends to pursue appellate recourse.

The precise juncture at which the Czech Supreme Administrative Court might render a judgment on that appeal remains shrouded in uncertainty.

Ahn commented that the Czech government, having apparently regarded EDF's assertions as inconsequential, had extended an invitation to the anticipated signing ceremony, suggesting a discernible misalignment between their assessment and the court's judicial determination.

In a statement on Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala conveyed his administration's deference to the court's ruling, subsequently appending: "I am confident that the judiciary and the court fully apprehend the momentousness of this determination and its ramifications for the security of the Czech Republic and our paramount national interests."

Acting South Korean President Lee Ju-Ho articulated Seoul's intention to engage in close liaison with their Czech counterparts to facilitate a swift finalization of the agreement.

July witnessed CEZ's designation of KHNP, rather than EDF, as the preferred tenderer for the construction of two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors at the Dukovany facility. EDF subsequently lodged a judicial complaint last week, subsequent to the Czech Republic's competition regulatory body's disallowance of its appeal concerning the bidding procedures.

Prior to his recent removal last month, precipitated by a controversially ill-conceived imposition of martial law in December, the erstwhile conservative South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, had committed to invigorating the nation's nuclear power export sector. He contended that this domain had languished under the preceding liberal administration, which had actively sought to diminish the country's domestic dependence on nuclear energy. Indeed, the Yoon government had articulated an ambitious objective: the export of a decuple of nuclear power reactors by the close of the present decade.