South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the United States and South Korea share the view that Seoul’s push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines would be an important alliance capability, an outcome of the inaugural meeting of a joint fact sheet (JFS) implementation framework held June 2-3.
A Foreign Ministry official told reporters Tuesday that talks took place on the premise that the submarines would be built in South Korea. The official said the US delegation did not raise objections to domestic construction. President Donald Trump had previously posted on social media that South Korean nuclear-powered submarines should be built at Philly Shipyard in the United States, but the two countries discussed the project on the basis of South Korean construction, the official said.
“Both sides share the view that South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarines would be an important alliance capability for South Korea’s leading role in the defense of the Korean Peninsula,” the official said.
The submarine plan is intended to strengthen security in response to conditions on the peninsula and is not aimed at any specific country, the official added.
The launch meeting marked the first session of the JFS implementation talks after about a seven-month delay. Officials described the atmosphere as positive, with one saying the US side appeared serious about the talks and another calling the atmosphere constructive. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun made an unannounced visit to a working lunch on the second day to encourage the delegations, according to the ministry.
Alongside the submarine discussions, the two sides agreed that strengthening their nuclear energy partnership serves their common interests and decided to begin full-scale talks on expanding South Korea’s uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing rights. South Korea currently faces restrictions under its civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Washington, commonly known as the 123 Agreement.
“The joint fact sheet talks are aimed at strengthening South Korea-US nuclear cooperation,” the Foreign Ministry official said. “In broad terms, this can be understood as looking at ways to adjust the current 123 Agreement.”
Diplomatic circles have discussed options including a full or partial revision of the agreement or passage of separate special legislation, according to the ministry.
Despite the positive signals, the government remains cautious because of the details of the negotiations, US concerns over nonproliferation norms, and uncertainty surrounding Trump’s decision-making style, officials said. “The overall perception of South Korea’s commitment to nonproliferation is the most important thing,” the official said. “We must make efforts to avoid sending unnecessary messages.”
President Lee Jae Myung’s remarks at his first-anniversary news conference Monday, where he criticized calls for South Korea to develop nuclear weapons as “truly irresponsible,” were seen as reflecting that concern, a ministry official said.
The two sides agreed to accelerate consultations. Several more full meetings led by the two countries’ national security councils are expected, along with frequent working-level talks by sectoral delegations. The government is coordinating the schedule for follow-up talks with Washington, officials said.