Overview
- South Korea welcomed the U.S. president’s statement and will open working-level talks with Washington, with the government weighing an interagency task force led by the prime minister’s office.
- The current Korea–U.S. nuclear cooperation pact limits military use of nuclear technology, so officials say a revised or supplemental agreement, IAEA safeguards and potentially U.S. congressional review would be required.
- President Trump said construction would occur at Hanwha’s Philadelphia shipyard, which does not yet have nuclear-submarine capability and would need major upgrades, with reported modernization spending around $5 billion.
- Defense leaders estimate an initial build timeline of a decade or more and say at least four submarines are needed for operational viability.
- China urged Washington and Seoul to uphold nonproliferation obligations, as Seoul reiterated it seeks nuclear propulsion for conventionally armed submarines, not nuclear weapons.