On Wednesday, officials in South Korea said a Czech court's decision to pause an $18 billion plan for South Korea to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic was only a temporary issue. They are confident that the deal will still go forward.

A group of South Korean companies, led by the government-owned Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, thought they would finish the deal this week with a company that is part of CEZ. CEZ is the biggest electricity company in the Czech Republic. But a Czech court stopped CEZ from signing the contract. The court is looking at a complaint from a French company called EDF, which did not win the bid against the South Koreans.

South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Dukgeun told reporters in Prague that the court's decision would only make the contract signing later. He said everything else would still happen on time if the deal is completed. He also mentioned that the Czech government did not think the court would stop the agreement, and that CEZ wants to fight the decision.

We don't know when the Czech Supreme Administrative Court will decide on that appeal.

Mr. Ahn said the Czech government didn't think EDF's claims were a big problem and asked them to come to the planned signing ceremony. He also said the Czech government's decision seemed different from what the court decided.

On Wednesday, the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, said his government accepts the court's decision. He also said, "I believe the judges and the court know how important this decision is and how it affects the safety of the Czech Republic and our country's interests."

Lee Ju-Ho, the acting president of South Korea, said that South Korea would talk closely with the Czech Republic to make sure the agreement is finished quickly.

In July, CEZ chose KHNP over EDF to build two nuclear reactors at the Dukovany power plant. Last week, EDF sued after the Czech Republic's competition office rejected their complaint about the bidding process.

Before he was removed from power last month, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promised to increase the country's nuclear power exports. He said these exports had decreased because the previous government wanted to use less nuclear energy in South Korea. His government planned to sell 10 nuclear reactors to other countries by 2030.