South Korea officials question feasibility of building nuclear submarine in US shipyard

By Heejin Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) -The South Korean-owned Philly Shipyard in the United States does not currently have the ​capability to build a nuclear-powered submarine, Prime Minister Kim Min-‌seok said on Thursday during a parliamentary hearing.

His remarks come after U.S. President Donald ‌Trump wrote on social media last week that he had given approval for South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine and that it would be built in the Philadelphia shipyard.

Trump posted the comment on his Truth Social platform after South Korea'⁠s President Lee Jae Myung ‌asked him during a summit to let his country, an ally of the U.S., have fuel for ‍nuclear-powered submarines equipped with conventional weapons.

"At the moment, as far as I know, it (the Philly Shipyard) does not have ​the capability," Kim said when asked by a lawmaker about ‌the potential to build a nuclear submarine there.

South Korea's Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday that it was "rational" to build the submarines in South Korea, given the country's level of expertise on shipbuilding, but that the issue had not been ⁠discussed by the two countries.

South Korea is ​home to some of the world's leading ​shipbuilders, including Hanwha Ocean, which along with another affiliate owns the Philly shipyard.

Hanwha Ocean declined to comment on the issue.‍

U.S. Defence ⁠Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a joint press conference with Ahn on Tuesday that the Trump administration would work closely with the Department of State ⁠and Department of Energy to fulfill Trump's commitment on the submarines, adding that the ‌president wants allies to be strong.

(Reporting by Heejin ‌KimEditing by Ed Davies and Gareth Jones)