US lawmaker optimistic about congressional backing for Korea's nuclear-powered sub, nuclear energy push

Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Wednesday. Yonhap

A prominent U.S. lawmaker on Wednesday voiced optimism about congressional support for South Korea's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities for peaceful use, citing broad bipartisan consensus.

Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) made the remarks as Seoul is seeking to speed up follow-up negotiations to implement security agreements reached with Washington under their joint fact sheet, produced after last year's two summits between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The U.S. has committed to supporting South Korea's bid to acquire the strategic vessels, including avenues to source fuel, as well as processes that will lead to uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing for civilian use.

Amid little progress on follow-up steps, concerns persist over whether the U.S. Congress would approve such sensitive moves, given its long-standing commitment to nonproliferation.

"I think Congress would," Bera said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency when asked whether U.S. lawmakers would green-light the moves.

"I think they understand that technology transfer and export controls have an important role. Those are all things that need to modernize," he said.

Bera, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, was visiting Seoul this week with a delegation of the bipartisan Congressional Study Group on Korea.

Bera said there is broad consensus in Congress to support such efforts in the context of burden-sharing, even if not all lawmakers agree.

He also noted that the commitments were made at the highest levels between the allies and should move forward "affirmatively."

"I take that at face value," he said. "President Trump wants to see progress on the joint fact sheet."

Regarding the U.S. military assets redeployed from Korea to the Middle East, Bera said while it is a "concerning" development, it also opens up room for discussions between the allies on co-production in the defense sector.

"The Korean defense industries have advanced quite rapidly," he said. "In today's world where U.S. defense production lines are very stretched, I think this is a place where Congress and the National Assembly can work together on co-development of defense products."

On the ongoing U.S. war in Iran, the lawmaker stressed the importance of cooperation with allies in Europe and Asia, including efforts to reduce long-term reliance on Middle Eastern energy, despite Trump's criticism of allies for their reluctance to support the U.S. in the conflict.

"There's no way to stabilize the region without our allies," Bera said. "In the short term, let's get a ceasefire, and in the longer term, it has exposed how alliances with Korea, Japan and Asia should design the Middle Eastern natural gas and oil exports."

"That has to involve partnerships with our Asian allies," he added.