US President Donald Trump (center left) and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung talk as they walk toward the summit venue in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 29. (Yonhap) South Korea’s presidential office said Friday that it discussed with Washington plans for nuclear-powered submarines to be built domestically — including the hull and the reactor — while enriched uranium would be procured from the US.
This follows reports suggesting the vessels could be constructed in US shipyards. An Oct. 29 social media post by US President Donald Trump said he had given South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine at a Philadelphia shipyard run by South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, following his talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Lee and Trump had held summit talks on the sidelines of last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
Friday’s briefing was held amid growing attention over a delay in the release of a bilateral “fact sheet” — a joint summary of agreements reached between the two leaders.
The official said the delay was due to ongoing consultations among relevant US departments and final adjustments to certain security-related language.
“Our country is capable of building nuclear-powered submarines, but since the use of nuclear fuel requires US approval, we received that approval,” the official said, requesting anonymity. “The discussion from start to finish was based on building them here in Korea.”
The presidential official said the issue of location was discussed during the bilateral talks, noting that the records from the Gyeongju summit show that during the closed-door meeting, the South Korean president said the submarines would be built here.
The official added that the government plans to build the conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea, and the enriched uranium to be used in it to be supplied by the US.
He went on to say, “As far as I know, the reactor to be installed on the submarine will also be developed domestically,” emphasizing that “we will receive enriched uranium from the US at a concentration suitable for the reactor developed in Korea.”
He further noted that South Korea will pursue a reactor model tailored to its own security needs, rather than adopting US submarine designs.
“US Virginia-class submarines use 90 percent enriched uranium and are too expensive. There’s no need to build something overly costly for our purposes,” he said.
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