White House Approves Nuclear Submarines, Supports South Korea's Civilian Uranium Enrichment and Reprocessing (Update)

White House Releases Fact Sheet

On November 13 (local time), the White House announced its approval of South Korea's plan to construct nuclear-powered submarines and expressed support for procedures related to uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.

Yonhap News Agency

In a fact sheet released that day, the White House stated that it has approved South Korea's construction of nuclear-powered attack submarines. Going forward, the United States will closely cooperate with South Korea to secure fuel and establish detailed requirements.

The White House also expressed support for South Korea's procedures for uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing. The White House explained, "Within the scope of the bilateral 123 Agreement and in compliance with U.S. legal requirements, the United States supports South Korea's pursuit of civilian uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing for peaceful purposes."

Additionally, the White House welcomed South Korea's commitment to contribute to the modernization and expansion of production capacity in the U.S. shipbuilding industry. The two countries have agreed to further strengthen cooperation through a 'shipbuilding working group' in areas such as maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), workforce training, shipyard modernization, and supply chain resilience.

The White House explained that these measures will help increase the number of U.S. commercial vessels and combat-ready naval ships as quickly as possible, and that this may include building U.S. ships in South Korea.