Trump Authorizes South Korea Nuclear‑Powered Submarines

After a meeting at the APEC summit, President Donald Trump announced he had authorized South Korea to build nuclear‑powered attack submarines (SSNs) and said they would be constructed at Philadelphia shipyards. Trump tied the approval to a sweeping bilateral economic package he said included tariff reductions in exchange for $350 billion in payments, large purchases of U.S. oil and gas, and more than $600 billion in South Korean private investment. Seoul, and President Lee Jae‑myung in particular, argues SSNs — which Lee says would be conventionally armed — are essential to counter advanced North Korean undersea threats and a more assertive Chinese navy. Lee also pressed Trump to revise the decades‑old ROK‑U.S. nuclear pact to permit supply of submarine reactor fuel and steps such as enrichment or reprocessing. Washington has long resisted transferring naval nuclear‑propulsion technology on non‑proliferation grounds, so Trump’s public approval marks a major policy shift that could have wide strategic, industrial and non‑proliferation consequences. The decision could revive U.S. shipbuilding, alter regional security dynamics and draw scrutiny from allies, China and non‑proliferation experts.