A launch ceremony is held for the KSS-III Batch-II ROKS Jang Yeong-sil submarine at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje yard on Oct. 22, 2025. (courtesy of the ROK Navy)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung publicly requested US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to “make a dedication” to permit provides of gas for nuclear-powered submarines to South Korea.
With Trump expressing settlement about South Korea’s want for nuclear submarines, the 2 sides plan to pursue follow-up discussions.
The 2 leaders additionally agreed to pursue discussions on amending their atomic power settlement to permit South Korea to complement a specific amount of uranium and reprocess spent nuclear gas.
In a briefing after Lee and Trump’s summit on Wednesday, Nationwide Safety Workplace head Wi Sung-lac defined that the leaders had mentioned a “full vary of issues,” together with the financial state of affairs in addition to modernization of the alliance, peace on the Korean Peninsula, the regional political state of affairs, and bilateral shipbuilding cooperation.
On July 29, 2023, the US and South Korea carried out a joint anti-submarine drill south of Jeju Island. (courtesy of the ROK Navy)
Wi additionally stated that Lee had “lauded the position of the South Korea-US alliance within the pursuit of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and inside the area” throughout the assembly, including that the 2 leaders had “mentioned the matter of introducing nuclear submarines and growing protection spending to reply to the quickly altering post-Chilly Warfare period regional safety atmosphere.”
Within the course of, Lee voiced the argument that enhancing South Korea’s autonomous protection capabilities would cut back the burden on the US, Wi defined.
Certainly, opening remarks that Lee made on Wednesday earlier than an expanded summit with Trump on the Gyeongju Nationwide Museum included an unprecedented public request for the US president to “make a dedication to permit the provides of gas for nuclear submarines.”
Lee additionally emphasised that it might “considerably cut back the burden on the US navy if South Korea had been to undertake protection actions within the Korean Peninsula’s East Sea and West Sea waters” by constructing a nuclear-powered submarine.
He additional harassed that South Korea wouldn’t be making submarines geared up with nuclear weapons, explaining that the weaker diving capabilities of diesel submarines posed constraints on the monitoring of North Korean and Chinese language submarines. He went on to say that if the US permitted gas provides, South Korea would apply its personal expertise to construct a number of submarines geared up with typical weapons.
As Lee said, a nuclear submarine is a submarine that depends on nuclear power for propulsion, versus a submarine that carries nuclear weapons.
In distinction, a diesel submarine is powered underwater by electrical energy saved in a battery. When that electrical energy runs low, the vessel should recharge by approaching the water’s floor and drawing air in to function its diesel engine.
When a submarine rises close to the water’s floor, that exposes its place, leaving it weak to assault by maritime patrol plane. A nuclear submarine is theoretically able to remaining underwater indefinitely.
Additionally underlying Lee’s public request on Wednesday was the intention of soothing safety tensions at residence. From South Korea’s standpoint, because it finds itself unable to arm itself with nuclear weapons — whereas North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities proceed progressing — a nuclear submarine would improve its capabilities to reply to the nuclear menace from Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung head to their summit location following a welcome reception on the Gyeongju Nationwide Museum’s latest addition on Oct. 29, 2025. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
Wi defined that Trump responded to Lee’s demand by “expressing settlement on South Korea’s want for nuclear submarines based mostly on environmental modifications corresponding to North Korea’s nuclear submarine development actions” and proposing follow-up discussions.
On the identical time, Wi commented that the 2 sides’ present atomic power settlement would “must be adjusted, because it bars the usage of nuclear gas for navy functions.”
“We might want to modify the present [atomic energy] settlement,” he instructed.
Sometimes, extremely enriched uranium is used to energy nuclear submarines. South Korea is at the moment solely capable of pursue lower than 20% enrichment of uranium with the usage of US uranium and tools, contingent on the US’ consent. Army use is prohibited.
Moreover, the present settlement doesn’t enable South Korea to reprocess spent nuclear gas. In reference to this, Lee reportedly requested that Trump focus “consideration on the highest degree towards uranium enrichment and nuclear gas reprocessing for peaceable ends.”
Whereas the system below the present settlement bars enrichment and reprocessing based mostly on the potential for use towards nuclear weapons, Lee harassed that South Korea was importing a big portion of its nuclear gas from Russia and that it requires such capabilities because it finds itself confronted with the pressing subject of disposing of waste from its personal nuclear energy amenities.
Wi defined that Trump “agreed with this” and that the 2 sides “agreed on the necessity to proceed exploring prospects for higher collaboration in key strategic industries corresponding to nuclear energy based mostly on South Korea’s superior capabilities.”
He additionally said that the atomic power settlement is “based mostly on an understanding of an outlined course based mostly on earlier consultations.”
“Together with his remarks right now, [Lee] was calling for consideration on the highest degree because of the want for working-level discussions to attain concrete developments in that course,” he defined.
Concerning the problem of accelerating protection spending, the 2 sides reportedly reached an settlement Wednesday on a plan during which South Korea would enhance navy expenditures from its present degree of two.32% of GDP to three.5% by no later than 2035.
Wi added that “buying of US weapons was not mentioned an ideal deal on the luncheon assembly,” explaining that it was a “matter of weapon buying based mostly on South Korea’s wants.”
By Kwon Hyuk-chul, employees reporter
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
