Long road ahead for Korea-US nuclear sub cooperation, says ex-US official

Eliot Kang, former US assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the Jeju Forum on Jeju Island, Friday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island — Korea's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines still faces a long road ahead despite Seoul's hopes of producing tangible results with Washington, according to Eliot Kang, former US assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation.

“It may take more than a year. This is not simply up to the executive branch of the United States government,” Kang said during a press conference on the sidelines of the Jeju Forum, Friday.

He said the initiative requires significant changes to the fundamental civil nuclear cooperation between the two allies.

“In order to have supply nuclear material from the US for military use, we must have another separate agreement,” he added. “It’s probably a mutual defense agreement.”

His remarks come as Seoul and Washington continue discussions on Korea's goal of acquiring its first nuclear-powered submarine following a security agreement reached by President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump last October.

Seoul's foreign ministry on Monday expressed optimism that the two sides can make meaningful progress this year as working-level talks continue.

Kang, however, was less optimistic, saying the process could take more than a year since, as it would require new legal arrangements and congressional support in the United States.

He went on to say that such an arrangement would need more than political will from a single administration, saying, "It is not simply a political will of a particular administration that could make this thing happen. Everything has to happen, and it also will depend on the makeup of Congress."

The former US official also cautioned against linking the submarine discussions to calls for Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons.

"When a lot of the Korean public express the view that Korea must have nuclear weapons, it makes things complicated. So the messaging and the negotiation has to be careful, precise and patient," he said.

Despite the challenges, Kang sees cooperation on a nuclear-powered submarine program as beneficial for both countries.

“One of the most important areas of cooperation that we could engage in is civil nuclear cooperation. And in this context, getting the cooperation on the nuclear submarine right is absolutely critical,” he said.

Kang said deeper nuclear cooperation should be viewed as part of the broader Korea-US alliance rather than as a standalone security initiative.

Regarding China, the former US official argued that regardless of whether US-China relations stabilize, the strategic rationale for closer Korea-US cooperation in countering China's growing influence will remain unchanged.

“Ultimately, China wants to displace Korea in most of the leading industries that you have,” Kang said.

"With the US, we have a complementary relationship. Not only that, we are bound by our democracy, people-to-people connections. This is something that we constantly remind ourselves, regardless of what label that is put on US-China relationship."