US President Donald Trump said he had approved plans for South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine in Philadelphia – praising Seoul as a “serious partner” in efforts to revive US shipbuilding – in a social post released just ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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“South Korea will be building its nuclear-powered submarine in the Philadelphia shipyards,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Thursday morning. “I have given them approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, rather than the old-fashioned and far less nimble diesel-powered submarines that they have now.”
The comments came after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung asked for America’s help in obtaining nuclear fuel for the country’s submarine programme during a meeting with Trump on Wednesday in Seoul, where global leaders have gathered for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.
Trump said the decision was based on the fact that America’s military alliance with South Korea was “stronger than ever before”. The timeline for the submarine project remains unclear.
The announcement was the latest move by the United States to shore up ties with Asian allies in the shipbuilding sector – an area where America and China are locked in strategic competition, with both sides placing steep port fees on each other’s vessels – ahead of the Apec forum.
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Xi and Trump held talks on Thursday morning, their first in-person meeting since Trump’s return to the White House in January, as they sought to manage heightened tensions over a series of issues. The two leaders were widely expected to address the dispute over port fees during the meeting.