The White House released a statement on Nov. 13 outlining the details of the agreement that the United States and South Korea made at their summits in August and October to collaborate on constructing commercial and naval vessels including nuclear-powered submarines, an issue that China has voiced concern over.
“The United States welcomed the ROK’s commitment to contribute to modernizing and expanding the capacity of American shipbuilding industries, including through investments in U.S. shipyards and America’s workforce,” a joint fact sheet issued by the White House said. The Republic of Korea (ROK) is South Korea’s official name.
Both countries will “collaborate further through a shipbuilding working group” and “increase the number of U.S. commercial ships and combat-ready U.S. military vessels as quickly as possible, including the potential construction of U.S. vessels in the ROK,” according to the White House fact sheet.
“The United States has given approval for the ROK to build nuclear-powered attack submarines. The United States will work closely with the ROK to advance requirements for this shipbuilding project, including avenues to source fuel,” it stated.
When South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with U.S. President Donald Trump at their second summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Oct. 29, he asked U.S. permission for South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines.
Lee said the submarines will help South Korea “track Chinese and North Korean submarines” and help the United States in the region.
A day after the summit, Trump announced via Truth Social that he has approved Seoul’s request to construct nuclear-powered submarines at Philadelphia shipyards.
South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean purchased Philly Shipyard in 2024. In August, Hanwha Group announced that it is investing $5 billion to revamp infrastructure aimed at boosting production capacity at the shipyard. The announcement was made when Lee was visiting the shipyard after holding his first summit with Trump in Washington.
According to the fact sheet, Trump and Lee reaffirmed a pledge that South Korea made in July to invest $150 billion in U.S. shipbuilding as part of an initiative that South Korea termed “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” or MASGA.
Bruce Klingner, senior fellow at The Mansfield Foundation, told The Epoch Times that South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarines would monitor China rather than North Korea.
“South Korea does not need nuclear-powered submarines against North Korea’s naval or submarine force,” Klingner said.
“The benefit of nuclear-powered submarines is for long-range missions far from the Korean Peninsula. As such, they are of great utility for regional contingencies, including monitoring Chinese submarines.
“Trump’s decision was surprising since it reversed years of U.S. reluctance to agree to South Korea nuclear-powered submarines and renegotiating the civilian nuclear agreement. His decision may simply have been that having seemingly established a positive rapport with Lee during two summit meetings, Trump acquiesced to Lee’s nuclear request.”
The joint fact sheet stated, “Consistent with the bilateral 123 agreement and subject to U.S. legal requirements, the United States supports the process that will lead to the ROK’s civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for peaceful uses.”
Agreements for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation, or the 123 agreements mandated by Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, established a framework that allows peaceful nuclear cooperation between the United States and other countries.
Nuclear-powered submarines use enriched uranium as fuel, allowing them to operate for up to 30 years without refueling.
Gordon Chang, senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, told The Epoch Times that the United States should take caution in sharing the highly guarded technology with the Lee administration.
“Lee Jae-myung is pro-China, pro-North Korea, and anti-U.S,” Chang said, adding that the United States “should share nothing sensitive with him. We have to assume anything he has will soon be shared with our enemies.”
Prior to his election to the presidency this year, Lee was criticized for what his political rivals described as his “subservient” attitude toward China when he met with then-Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming in March 2024. Lee was criticized again in May for downplaying the Taiwan issue, saying, “Why meddle in China’s issue? Just say ‘xiexie.’ Say ‘xiexie’ to Taiwan too.”
“Xiexie” means “thank you” in Mandarin Chinese.
At a news conference held at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on Nov. 13, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing expressed concern over the U.S.–South Korea plan.
“We hope South Korea will handle this matter cautiously, taking into account the concerns of various countries,” Dai said. “The cooperation between South Korea and the United States on nuclear-powered submarines goes beyond commercial dimensions and is directly linked to the international nonproliferation regime and regional peace and stability.”
The U.S.–South Korea discussions come amid rising concerns over China’s massive naval buildup.
The Pentagon’s 2024 report on China’s military stated, “Numerically the [People’s Republic of China] has the largest navy in the world, with a battle force of over 370 ships and submarines, including more than 140 major surface combatants.” The report projected the number to grow to 395 Chinese ships by 2025 and to 435 by 2030.
China has been critical of U.S. cooperation with South Korea.
China’s state-run Global Times ran an article in July saying the partnership with the United States could lead to “a precarious situation” making South Korea “increasingly dependent on or even subordinate to U.S. interests.” In August, the publication ran another article saying investing in the U.S. shipbuilding industry “may not be a profitable venture” for South Korea.
China imposed sanctions on five U.S. subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean in October, banning Chinese entities and individuals from doing business with them. On Nov. 10, it suspended the sanctions for a year. China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement that the sanctions were lifted in response to the U.S. halting port fees that it had levied on Chinese-built and -operated ships.
The announcement came after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Oct. 30 in the South Korean port city of Busan, agreeing to walk back their punitive trade measures for a year.
According to the fact sheet, Trump and Lee also reaffirmed their “efforts to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea” in the Indo-Pacific region.
“They emphasized the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and “encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues and opposed unilateral changes to the status quo,” it stated.
Dai said at the news conference that China hopes “the South Korea–U.S. alliance will not ignite a fire over the Taiwan issue.”
A previous version of this article misspelled the names of Gordon Chang and Bruce Klingner. The Epoch Times regrets the errors.
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