Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Minister of Commerce, said on the 2nd (local time) that part of the total $750 billion in investments pledged by Korea and Japan for the United States will be prioritized for building nuclear power plants in the country.
Minister Lutnick said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House that day, "We must build a nuclear arsenal of generation of power in the United States for electricity production, and we will do this with hundreds of billions of dollars from Japan and Korea."
He added, "We will start with nuclear power," suggesting that part of the investment funds provided by the two countries will be used first for U.S. nuclear plant construction projects.
Earlier, in an investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan, the United States specified construction projects for large nuclear plants and small modular reactors (SMRs).
Korea also released its plan for investment in the United States under the tariff agreement with the United States, and President Lee Jae-myung said on the 14th of last month, when the Korea-U.S. negotiations were concluded, "We will build a new cooperation partnership between Korea and the United States, from traditional strategic industries such as shipbuilding and nuclear power to high-tech industries such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors."
According to the Korea-U.S. investment MOU for the United States, the total $350 billion investment consists of $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in the shipbuilding institutional sector, including direct investment (FDI) by Korean corporations, guarantees, and ship finance.
Under the method for distributing investment revenue, Korea and the United States will split 50% each until principal and interest are repaid, and after repayment, the United States will receive 90% and Korea 10%.
Minister Lutnick said of this, "We will build here (in the United States) and split the resulting cash flow 5:5," adding, "We also plan to invest $150 billion to build ships in the United States."
At the Cabinet meeting that day, ministers took turns reporting recent achievements, and Minister Lutnick's remarks came in that process.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, at the same meeting, said that even allies took profits from the United States until he took office, noting, "I won't mention country names. I won't mention Japan or Korea," while effectively pointing to the two countries.
"They exploited the United States more than anyone in history and thoroughly took advantage of your country," the president said, emphasizing, "But now, thanks to the tariffs I imposed, the United States is earning massive revenue."