SEOUL: South Korea’s defence minister thinks building a nuclear-powered submarine at home would be “reasonable”, the department told AFP on Thursday (Nov 6), a week after United States President Donald Trump said it would be made in the US.
Trump had announced that South Korea would build the submarine in a Philadelphia shipyard “right here in the good ol’ USA”, where the nuclear technology is among the most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.
It comes after Seoul announced the two countries had reached a broad deal covering investment and shipbuilding following Trump’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Critics argue that, given Trump’s remarks, Washington may push Seoul to invest in the Philadelphia shipyard in exchange for US support to build the vessel.
But South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said on Wednesday it was sensible to build the submarine domestically at home, his ministry said.
When asked by lawmakers at the National Assembly whether he believed it should be built domestically, Ahn replied: “We believe it is reasonable, given that we have accumulated more than 30 years of technology and research”.
Unlike diesel-powered submarines, which must regularly surface to recharge their batteries, nuclear-powered ones can remain submerged for far longer.
Source: CNA
