U.S. President Trump announced approval for South Korea's construction of nuclear-powered submarines, emphasizing the strengthening of the Korea-U.S. military alliance. South Korea is set to build nuclear submarines at the Philadelphia shipyard in the United States, which boasts significantly superior performance compared to diesel-powered submarines. With South Korea's possession of submarine and small modular reactor technologies, nuclear submarine operationalization is expected to be possible within 10 years. The introduction of nuclear submarines requires addressing additional challenges including nuclear fuel issues and discussions on domestic non-proliferation policies. Additionally, South Korea will pay 350 billion dollars in exchange for U.S. tariff reductions and has promised to purchase large quantities of American oil and gas while investing over 600 billion dollars in U.S. companies.
