S. Korea: Building nuclear subs in US is "Extremely Difficult"

December 03, 2025 / 11:24 AM

South Korea President Lee Jae Myung gestures as he holds a press conference at the Blue House in Seoul on December 3

Sharjah24 - AFP: South Korea’s president said Wednesday that it would be “extremely difficult” to manufacture the country’s future nuclear-powered submarines in the United States, despite Washington’s approval to supply the restricted nuclear fuel required for the vessels. While South Korea is set to join the small group of nations operating nuclear-powered submarines, the location of their construction remains unresolved.

Diverging signals between Washington and Seoul

US President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that South Korea would build the submarines at the Philadelphia Shipyards “right here in the good ol’ U.S.A.”

However, President Lee Jae Myung said the matter “still needs continued negotiation” and emphasised that producing the vessels in the United States is “realistically extremely difficult”.

Seoul insists on domestic production

Lee stressed that South Korea’s long-standing position is to build the submarines domestically using its own technology.

“We did not ask the US to build them for us or provide the technology,” he said. “Our request was simply for approval to receive nuclear fuel that is currently prohibited.”

Highly sensitive US technology

Nuclear-powered submarine technology is among the most restricted and closely protected defence capabilities in the United States, complicating any arrangement involving foreign production.