SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has approved a 7.6 trillion won (S$9 billion) project to build two nuclear plants by 2020, the Energy Ministry said on Wednesday, as it struggles with tight power supply following a series of nuclear reactor closures due to safety issues.

The approval is the first since Asia's fourth-largest economy said earlier this month that it would cut its reliance on nuclear power to 29 per cent of total power supply by 2035, down from a planned 41 per cent by 2030.

Seoul has faces public pressure to curb its use of nuclear power after Japan's Fukushima disaster and due to a scandal over parts supplied using fake certificates.