President Trump said Wednesday that South Korea could build a nuclear-powered submarine.
“Our military alliance is stronger than ever, and based on that, I have given them authorization to build a nuclear-powered submarine, rather than the outdated and much less agile diesel submarines they currently have,” the president wrote on Truth Social during a multi-day visit to South Korea.
Mr. Trump added that the submarine would be built in Philadelphia, as the president and lawmakers seek foreign investment to boost the U.S. shipbuilding industry. A South Korean company bought the Philadelphia shipyard last year.
In a meeting with Mr. Trump earlier on Wednesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he was seeking U.S. support to secure nuclear fuel for submarines. He argued that abandoning diesel-electric submarines — which typically have a more limited range — would allow South Korea to help the U.S. Navy patrol the region.
“We are not targeting nuclear-armed submarines, but rather conventionally armed and nuclear-powered submarines,” Lee said through a translator, saying his country’s existing fleet had “limited capabilities” and “cannot really effectively monitor and counter other countries’ submarine activities.”
Nuclear-powered submarines are a key part of the U.S. naval fleet, and the advanced technology needed to build them is closely watched by U.S. officials. The Biden administration signed an agreement with Australia to help the country build the submarines.
The move could worry the United States and South Korea’s two common rivals in the region, North Korea and China. China’s navy has nuclear-powered submarines, and North Korea said earlier this year it had developed one. Mr. Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday local time for talks expected to focus on trade.
Mr. Trump announced the submarine deal as part of a broader trade deal with South Korea, the United States’ sixth-largest trading partner and a key military ally in the region.
He said the country agreed to “pay the United States” $350 billion, invest in American industry and buy American oil and gas in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean imports. Mr. Trump described a similar agreement over the summer, which included 15% tariffs on South Korean products.
