South Korea and the United States share the view that Seoul’s planned nuclear-powered submarines would be an important capability for the alliance and for defense of the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean foreign ministry official says. The officials made the remarks after inaugural bilateral talks on nuclear cooperation in Seoul last week, where the two sides discussed South Korea’s envisioned submarine program. South Korea’s goal is to build conventionally armed nuclear submarines as part of arrangements agreed in a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in October. According to the foreign ministry official, South Korea presents detailed development plans, including a basic development blueprint, and explains that the submarines would be built using South Korea’s own technology. The U.S. side acknowledges that understanding during the consultations. The ministry also says the U.S. delegation does not link the submarine discussions to the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), which is another key issue in the allies’ broader security agenda. The talks were held as follow-up to kickoff meetings in Seoul on June 2 and 3, aimed at implementing security and economic commitments described in a joint fact sheet released in November 2025.
South Korea and U.S. align on Seoul-led nuclear submarine role for alliance
South Korea and the United States share the view that Seoul’s planned nuclear-powered submarines would be an important capability for the alliance and for defense of the Korean Peninsula, a South Kore...
- South Korea and the United States agree that Seoul’s planned nuclear-powered submarines would strengthen alliance security for the Korean Peninsula.
- In nuclear cooperation talks in Seoul last week, the two sides discuss South Korea’s submarine program and development blueprint.
- South Korea says the submarines would be built in South Korea using its own technology, and the U.S. side understands that position.
- The U.S. delegation does not link the submarine issue to the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).
- The discussions follow a summit between Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump in October and subsequent meetings referenced in a November 2025 joint fact sheet.
South Korea and the United States reached a shared understanding during last week's bilateral talks that Seoul's future nuclear-powered submarines will both bolster the security framework on the Korean Peninsula and benefit the broader alliance, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. “We continued the discussions based on the understanding that the submarines will be built in South Korea and the U.S. side didn’t elaborate further,” a foreign ministry official said, adding that the U.S. delegation did not link the submarine issue to the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), another critical area of focus for the two allies. The remarks came a week after the kickoff meetings in Seoul on June 2 and 3, aiming at implementing security and economic agreements outlined in the joint fact sheet published in November 2025, following the October 2025 summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. The meetings were led on the Korean side by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and on the U.S. side by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison
13 hours agoSouth Korea and the United States reached a shared understanding during last week's bilateral talks that Seoul's future nuclear-powered submarines will both bolster the security framework on the Korean Peninsula and benefit the broader alliance, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. “We continued the discussions based on the understanding that the submarines will be built in South Korea and the U.S. side didn’t elaborate further,” a foreign ministry official said, adding that the U.S. delegation did not link the submarine issue to the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), another critical area of focus for the two allies. The remarks came a week after the kickoff meetings in Seoul on June 2 and 3, aiming at implementing security and economic agreements outlined in the joint fact sheet published in November 2025, following the October 2025 summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. The meetings were led on the Korean side by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and on the U.S. side by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison
15 hours agoKorea and the United States share the view that nuclear submarines, which Seoul is seeking to develop, would serve as a key alliance capability for the two countries, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday. "The two countries share the view that our nuclear submarines would be an important alliance capability that would enable Korea to play a leading role in the defense of the Korean Peninsula," the official told reporters Tuesday. The official made the remarks following inaugural bilateral talks on nuclear cooperation held in Seoul last week, where the two sides discussed Korea's envisioned nuclear submarine program. Korea is pushing to build conventionally armed nuclear submarines following security agreements reached in a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in October. During last week's two-day consultations, Korea shared detailed plans for the program, including a basic development blueprint, according to the official. "We explained that the submarines would be built using our own technology, and the U.S. side understood it that way," the official
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