Presidential Office Welcomes Trump’s Approval of Korean Nuclear Submarine, Vows Close Cooperation with U.S. [Gyeongju APEC]

"Will Contribute to Expanding the Leading Role of Our Military in the Defense of the Republic of Korea"
Trump States on Social Media, "The Korea-U.S. Military Alliance Is Stronger Than Ever"

The Presidential Office on October 30 expressed its welcome for U.S. President Donald Trump's approval of South Korea's request to build nuclear-powered submarines. President Trump, during the South Korea-U.S. summit held the previous day (October 29), received President Lee's request to allow the construction of nuclear-powered submarines and, on his social media platform Truth Social, stated, "The South Korea-U.S. military alliance is stronger than ever," expressing his intention to approve the request.

Yonhap News Agency

Kim Namjoon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, delivered this announcement at a briefing held at the press center set up in Gyeongju, where the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit is taking place.

Spokesperson Kim added, "During this summit, the United States expressed strong support for South Korea's need to build nuclear-powered submarines," and stated, "President Trump's decision will greatly contribute to expanding our military's leading role in the defense of the Republic of Korea." He further commented, "We will continue to work closely with the United States as we move forward with this matter."

President Lee's remarks about building nuclear-powered submarines were made during the South Korea-U.S. summit the previous day. In his opening statement, President Lee began by saying, "I believe there may have been some misunderstandings because I was unable to provide a sufficiently detailed explanation before," and continued, "We are not seeking to build submarines equipped with nuclear weapons. We ask for your decision to allow us to receive fuel for nuclear-powered submarines."

Regarding President Lee's comments, Spokesperson Kim explained, "This topic was discussed during the previous summit in Washington," and clarified, "It means there was not enough time to provide a thorough explanation at that time, not that there were any disagreements."