Trump says South Korea has approval to build nuclear-powered submarine

Reuters:

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Oct 30 – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he has given South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, a dramatic move that would admit Seoul to a small club of nations possessing such vessels. The submarine will be built in a Philadelphia shipyard, where South Korean firms have increased investment, Trump wrote on social media.

“I have given them approval to build a Nuclear Powered Submarine, rather than the old fashioned, and far less nimble, diesel powered Submarines that they have now,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The U.S. president, who met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and other regional leaders during his visit, also said Seoul had agreed to buy vast quantities of U.S. oil and gas. Trump and Lee finalized details of a fraught trade deal at a summit in South Korea on Wednesday. Lee had also been seeking U.S. permission for South Korea to reprocess nuclear fuel. NUCLEAR RESTRICTIONS EASING? South Korea’s Industry Ministry said its officials had not been involved in any detailed discussions about building the submarines in Philadelphia. While South Korea has a sophisticated shipbuilding industry, Trump did not spell out where the propulsion technology would come from for a nuclear-powered submarine, which only a handful of countries currently possess.

One opposition lawmaker said on Thursday the Philadelphia shipyard does not have facilities to build submarines.

Asked about Trump’s submarine announcement, Hanwha Ocean, which owns the shipyard with another Hanwha affiliate, said it was ready to cooperate with both countries and provide support with advanced technology, but did not mention specifics.

Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers that plans called for South Korea to build its own submarins and modular reactors, and receive a supply of enriched uranium fuel from the United States.

Seok Jong-gun, the minister for the defense acquisition program administration told the same hearing that South Korea had been developing small nuclear reactors for some time and would be able to build one for a submarine in less than the decade usually needed to develop such nuclear-powered vessels.

“We believe if we use the technologies we have been preparing for the future … we’ll be able to achieve this within a short period of time,” he said. The United States has been working with Australia and Britain on a project for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines involving technology transfers from the United States. The United States has so far only shared that technology with Britain, back in the 1950s. Lee said when he met Trump on Wednesday that allowing South Korea to build several nuclear-powered submarines equipped with conventional weapons would significantly reduce the burden on the U.S. military. He also asked for Trump’s support to make substantial progress on South Korea being allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, or on uranium enrichment, something currently not allowed under the nuclear agreement between the two countries, even though South Korea possesses nuclear reactors to generate power.