South Korea on Thursday held a meeting of an interagency task force tasked with advancing Seoul’s plans to build nuclear-powered submarines, the Defense Ministry said.
According to the ministry, the meeting, held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Seoul, brought together director-general-level officials from 10 relevant agencies, who exchanged broad views on key elements required for submarine construction.
Specifically, the participants included officials from the Defense Ministry; the Ministry of Economy and Finance; the Foreign Ministry; the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment; the Ministry of Science and ICT; the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources; the Defense Acquisition Program Administration; the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Navy Headquarters.
The ministry said the task force was formed in recognition of the nuclear-powered submarine project as a national strategic initiative that spans the military, diplomatic and security domains. However, it was not immediately disclosed whether the meeting marked the task force’s first session or when the body was formally established.
Seoul is pushing ahead with plans to build nuclear submarines following an agreement reached at a recent bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump.
During their meeting on Oct. 30, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the two leaders agreed to allow South Korea to pursue the construction of the submarines, with fuel to be supplied by the United States.
As part of efforts to implement summit agreements, Wi Sung-lac, South Korea’s national security adviser, is currently visiting the US, where he is widely expected to discuss follow-up steps with US officials to facilitate Seoul’s nuclear submarine program.
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