The United States has given the green light for South Korea to proceed with the production of nuclear submarines, revealed US President Donald Trump.
According to information from Naval News, Trump posted the announcement on his own social media platform, Truth Social, last Wednesday (29). The announcement came after a meeting between the US President and South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung in Gyeongju, South Korea.
In the post, Trump detailed that the submarines will be built on US soil, at the Philadelphia shipyards, which were acquired by the South Korean defense company Hanwha at the end of 2024.
“Our military alliance (between the US and South Korea) is stronger than ever, and based on that, I gave them approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine,” the US president wrote on social media.
The construction of nuclear submarines marks a departure from previous efforts, as the focus of South Korean submarine construction has mainly been on conventionally powered submarines.
Before President Trump’s statement, South Korea’s nuclear submarine construction projects had been suspended for some time, as the US had not given approval.
However, since the Philadelphia shipyards, where the construction will take place, are currently equipped to handle only commercial vessels, Hanwha reportedly invested over $5 billion in modernization and preparation for nuclear submarine construction.
It’s worth noting that no concrete agreement has been reached regarding the development of the shipyards or a plan for the construction of the submarines, with no official signing from South Korea.
Kang Dong-gil, Chief of Naval Operations, stated during the National Assembly Defense Committee audit last Thursday (30) that “the start date for the nuclear-powered submarine program has not yet been set.”
He added that production is expected to take more than 10 years to complete, a statement supported by Seok Jong-geon, Commissioner of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The scale of production has also not been defined, as revealed by National Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek. “This will need to be discussed with the Navy, but I think at least four submarines would be necessary.”
Photo: ROK Navy. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
