US President Donald Trump on Thursday gave South Korea the green light to build a nuclear submarine, giving Seoul a potential entry into the elite list of countries with such vessels.
Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine is to be built at a shipyard in Philadelphia, where South Korean firms have increased their investment.
“South Korea will be building their nuclear powered submarine at the Philadelphia Shipyards, right here in the good old USA Shipbuilding in our country is about to make a BIG COMEBACK. Stay tuned!!! (sic),” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The US president, who met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and other regional leaders during his visit, also said Seoul had agreed to buy large amounts of US oil and gas.
Trump’s announcement marks a significant departure from US policy on nuclear-powered submarines: despite Lee’s predecessors seeking to build nuclear-powered submarines, the United States has opposed the idea for decades.
The US president’s announcement, which essentially admits Seoul to an elite club, also comes at a time when efforts to help North Korea have failed: Trump said on Wednesday that he had been unable to arrange a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Earlier, Pyongyang tested a cruise missile linked to its “nuclear forces” before Trump’s arrival in South Korea.
When will South Korea get its nuclear powered submarine?
Although plans to create the submarine have been greenlit, it is unclear when work will begin.
Reuters reported that South Korean Industry Ministry officials were not involved in any detailed discussions about building a nuclear-powered submarine in Philadelphia.
Further, the news agency said that Trump did not specify where the submarine propulsion technology, currently owned by only a handful of countries, would come from, adding that the US had shared said technology with Britain in the 1950s.
