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 US 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 social media after South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung asked him during a summit to let his country, an ally of the US, 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 Hanwha affiliate owns the Philly shipyard.
Hanwha Ocean declined to comment on the issue.
US 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 fulfil Trump’s commitment on the submarines, adding that the president wants allies to be strong.
(Reporting by Heejin Kim Editing by Ed Davies and Gareth Jones)
