South Korea, U.S. step up nuclear submarine talks

South Korea and the United States have agreed that follow-up negotiations in the security sector, including discussions on nuclear-powered submarines and expanded authority over uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, will be led by the National Security Councils at the presidential offices in Seoul and Washington. The two sides are reportedly coordinating a visit to South Korea by a U.S. negotiating delegation as early as later this month.

Seoul is also said to be seeking a South Korea-U.S. “2+2” meeting of foreign and defense ministers.

A senior South Korean government official said Feb. 13, “Given that a fact sheet agreement was reached at the summit level last year, the two countries are discussing moving forward with follow-up consultations in the security field under the overall direction of the two NSCs.”

A U.S. delegation led by Ivan Kanapathy, senior director for East Asia at the National Security Council, is reportedly preparing to visit Seoul as early as later this month. The delegation is expected to include officials from the State, Defense and Energy departments, along with representatives from other agencies involved in nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing and shipbuilding cooperation.

Kanapathy had initially been expected to travel to Seoul late last month. However, U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25 percent tariff increase reportedly disrupted trade-related agreements and affected the schedule for follow-up security consultations.

Separately, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back are said to be arranging a South Korea-U.S. “2+2” meeting in Washington this month with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Cho and Ahn are also scheduled to attend a separate 2+2 meeting in Canada later this month at the request of the Canadian government. Ahead of that session, they are considering a visit to the United States to initiate follow-up security negotiations.

Amid concerns that the reinstatement of U.S. tariffs could undermine security agreements, Seoul appears to be seeking to establish comprehensive consultation channels to accelerate discussions on nuclear-powered submarines and related issues. Observers say Seoul may present Washington with a proposed timeline for pursuing the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines.


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com