South Korea will “move forward” with the United States in building nuclear-powered submarines, President Lee Jae Myung said Friday, after a long-awaited security and trade agreement was finalised.<\/p>\n
Analysts say developing the atomic-powered vessels would mark a significant leap in Seoul’s naval and defence industrial base, allowing it to join a select group of countries with such vessels.<\/p>\n
“One of the greatest variables for our economy and security — the bilateral negotiations on trade, tariffs and security — has been finalised,” Lee told a news conference, adding the two countries had agreed to “move forward with building nuclear-powered submarines”.<\/p>\n
Seoul had secured “support for expanding our authority over uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing”, he said.<\/p>\n
A joint fact sheet outlining the deal said both sides would “collaborate further through a shipbuilding working group” to “increase the number of US commercial ships and combat-ready US military vessels”.<\/p>\n
Beijing, on Thursday, voiced caution over a Washington-Seoul deal on nuclear submarine technology.<\/p>\n
The partnership “goes beyond a purely commercial partnership, directly touching on the global non-proliferation regime and the stability of the Korean Peninsula and the wider region,” Dai Bing, China’s ambassador to Seoul told reporters.<\/p>\n
Details remain murky on where the nuclear submarines will be built.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump said on social media last month that “South Korea will be building its Nuclear Powered Submarine in the Philadelphia Shipyards, right here in the good ol’ U.S.A”.<\/p>\n
– Billions in investments –<\/p>\n
US nuclear technology is among its most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.<\/p>\n
However, Seoul’s national security advisor Wi Sung-lac said on Friday that “from start to finish, the leaders’ discussion proceeded on the premise that construction would take place in South Korea”.<\/p>\n
“So the question of where construction will take place can now be considered settled,” he added.<\/p>\n
As part of the deal, South Korea has pledged to buy $25 billion-worth of US military equipment and plans to “provide comprehensive support for US Forces Korea amounting to $33 billion”.<\/p>\n
Details of a tariffs agreement were also announced.<\/p>\n
Trump unexpectedly declared at last month’s APEC summit that the two sides had reached a deal on an investment package and auto tariffs, before clarifying it was “pretty much” finalised.<\/p>\n
Seoul later said the $350-billion agreement included $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation, adding that both sides agreed to keep reciprocal tariffs and lower auto tariffs at 15 percent.<\/p>\n
Semiconductor tariffs, however, were not included in the deal at the time.<\/p>\n
The fact sheet stated that South Korea’s semiconductor tariffs will be “no less favorable than terms that may be offered in a future agreement covering a volume of semiconductor trade at least as large as Korea’s”, but did not give further details.<\/p>\n
South Korea is home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix and produces a significant chunk of high-end chips that have become the lifeblood of the global economy, powering everything from smartphones to missiles.<\/p>\n
The country’s semiconductor exports reached a record high of $142 billion in 2024, accounting for more than a fifth of the country’s total exports.<\/p>\n
hs\/ep\/dan\/jm<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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