As U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 30th (local time) that he approved South Korea's construction of nuclear-powered submarines, an assessment emerged that the United States has decided to share with South Korea top-secret technology it had not provided even to its closest allies.
The Associated Press, citing Trump's announcement that day, said, "America's nuclear-submarine technology is among the most sensitive and tightly guarded technologies the U.S. military possesses," adding, "This technology has remained highly classified for a long time, and even agreements with the United Kingdom or Australia did not include a direct transfer of technology."
In fact, the United States, under the AUKUS pact, is providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, but aside from nuclear fuel supply and basic design, it has not directly transferred reactor core technology or propulsion-system technology. In this respect, Trump's decision is being viewed as an unprecedented level of technological cooperation even among allies.
The AP noted in particular that the announcement came a day before a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China already has nuclear-submarine capabilities, and North Korea also said in March that it began building its first nuclear submarine.
The wire service said, "Nuclear-powered submarines are weapons systems with significant security implications not only for South Korea but also for the United States," analyzing, "Trump's agreement on the need for South Korea to acquire nuclear submarines appears to reflect a strategic intent to keep both North Korea and China in check."
Trump said on his social media (SNS) platform Truth Social that he "approved enabling South Korea to build nuclear-powered submarines instead of the outdated diesel submarines it currently has." He added, "South Korea will build nuclear-powered submarines at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in the United States, and this will trigger a massive revival of America's shipbuilding industry."
Meanwhile, U.S. defense officials, regarding Trump's announcement, said "policy review is underway" and did not offer a specific position.