Trump says Korea, Japan, others going to Alaska to 'load up' with oil, build pipelines
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House during a meeting with travel executives, Sept. 2, in Washington, as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, left, and Travel Association President and CEO Jeff Freeman, look on. AP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that South Korea, Japan and other countries are going to Alaska to "load up with oil and build pipelines," as he highlighted his support for the state ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump made the remarks during a press availability at the White House, mentioning Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) who is up for reelection.
"I definitely know nobody has helped Alaska like Donald Trump. We've invested billions and billions of dollars and created trillions of dollars in value," he said.
"You have Japan. You have South Korea. You have all of these people now going to Alaska to load up with fuel, load up with oil, build pipelines, everything else. Dan Sullivan's done a great job," he added, noting his intention to visit Alaska to help Republican candidates.
The Trump administration has sought to elicit cooperation from South Korea, Japan and other nations in an Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
The project aims to build a 1,287-kilometer pipeline from the North Slope, which has massive proven natural gas reserves, to southern Alaska to transport natural gas that will be cooled to liquid form for shipments to Asia.