US President Donald Trump has agreed to help South Korea equip itself with a nuclear-powered submarine to enable it to face military threats from China and North Korea. Welcome to Seoul, the announcement did not please Beijing. It was among the subjects discussed during the meeting held on Saturday 1East November, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum summit organized in Gyeongju (southeast of South Korea), between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
While the issue has not been formally addressed, Mr. Xi expressed the wish to“deepen communication” with South Korea, particularly for “contribute together and with more energy to peace and development in the region”.
The South Korean ambition to acquire nuclear submarines dates from the first North Korean nuclear crisis, in 1994, under the administration of Kim Young-sam (1993-1998)
. President Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008) attempted to set up a secret 4,000-ton submarine program, but the project, which failed, had to be abandoned. A similar initiative under the Moon Jae-in administration (2017-2022) also failed due to opposition from the United States.
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