South Korean government officially announced for the first time its intention to introduce nuclear-powered submarines South Korean officials: Trump said he agreed that South Korea needs this capability

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Trump (Wednesday at the National Gyeongju Museum, the summit opening speech expressed the hope to expand bilateral economic cooperation centered on the shipbuilding industry, and strengthen the ROK-US alliance. Yoon also expressed a determination to increase South Korea's defense spending. Especially during this process, he publicly requested Trump to allow the U.S. to agree to supply nuclear-powered submarine fuel to South Korea, which has attracted attention.

Korea News Service reported that due to the deadlock in the tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States, both sides focused mainly on security issues. Yoon specifically requested Trump: "Please make a decision so that we can obtain the fuel for nuclear-powered submarines."

Yoon pointed out, "Because diesel-powered submarines have poor submergence capabilities, their ability to track North Korean or Chinese submarines is limited. If allowed to supply fuel, we will use our own technology to build multiple conventional weapon-equipped submarines, conduct defensive operations in the Korean Peninsula waters, which can also alleviate the burden on the U.S. military."

Regarding the revision of the ROK-US Atomic Energy Agreement, Yoon stated that he hopes Trump will instruct relevant departments to accelerate the progress of negotiations between South Korea and the United States on spent fuel reprocessing and uranium enrichment.

At the same time, Yoon pledged, "South Korea will significantly enhance its own defense capabilities by increasing defense spending and developing the defense industry," and "we will definitely support South Korea's defense industry, increase defense spending, to reduce the burden on the U.S. defense spending."

Trump said, "I know that the Korean Peninsula is currently in a state of formal war, and we will see what we can do to solve this problem."

According to CNN reports, past South Korean governments have repeatedly expressed an intention to introduce nuclear-powered submarines, but the United States has long opposed it, citing concerns about nuclear proliferation. In March this year, North Korea demonstrated a nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine it claimed to be building, a weapon system that could pose a significant security threat to both South Korea and the United States.

Lee Seung-ho, Director of the National Security Office, said at a press conference held at the Gyeongju International Media Center immediately after the summit: "The two leaders discussed comprehensive issues including the economic situation, alliance modernization, peace on the Korean Peninsula, regional situation, and ROK-US shipbuilding cooperation."

Lee continued, "At the meeting, President Yoon highly evaluated the role of the ROK-US alliance in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the region, and discussed issues of responding to rapid changes in the regional security environment in the post-Cold War era, including increasing defense spending and introducing nuclear-powered submarines."

Lee said that Trump expressed agreement with South Korea's need to possess nuclear-powered submarine capabilities to respond to changing circumstances, such as North Korea building nuclear submarines, and proposed subsequent discussions. This is the first time the South Korean government has formally announced its intention to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.

Korea News Service reported that the South Korean military had previously pushed for the construction of nuclear-powered submarines. In 2003, during the presidency of Roh Moo-hyun, there was a secret plan to build a 4,000-ton nuclear submarine, but the project was halted after some media exposed details. Even after that, the necessity of introducing nuclear-powered submarines was occasionally raised, but due to political and diplomatic sensitivity, the South Korean government could not immediately decide to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.

To ensure the safety of nuclear-powered submarines, large submarines with a displacement of 4,000 to 5,000 tons or more are needed, and small nuclear reactors must be developed as their power source. According to reports, preparations in this area have made certain progress.

A South Korean military official explained, "We have already mastered the submarine hull technology, and now we just need to scale it up." The official added, "As for the reactor, the state-run Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has conducted extensive research on commercial reactors and has been studying small modular reactor (SMR) systems, so there is no reason we cannot do it, but it will take time."

The report mentioned that the biggest issue is "U.S. approval," but with Trump expressing support for this necessity, it is expected that this issue will no longer be a barrier. A government official explained, "Generating electricity using small reactors is not a problem, but building small reactors for military use requires U.S. approval."

The report mentioned that a solution to the issue of small nuclear reactor fuel - supply of enriched uranium is expected to be found. Both sides are negotiating the revision of the ROK-US Atomic Energy Agreement to allow South Korea to retain the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel and enrich uranium, and nuclear submarine material safety issues are likely to be resolved during this process.

Regarding the assurance of nuclear submarine fuel, Lee said at the press conference, "I think we must adjust the existing ROK-US Atomic Energy Agreement to achieve this goal." He added, "Nuclear fuel is used for military purposes, and the existing agreement does not apply to military purposes, so I think only by making some adjustments can this process be completed."

The report said that at the same time, even if small nuclear reactors and enriched uranium are secured, the development and deployment of nuclear-powered submarines are expected to take 8 to 10 years. Of course, if South Korea can receive support like the U.S. supporting Australia's procurement of nuclear-powered submarines, the development speed will be significantly accelerated.

Source: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847319656606720/

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