Seoul: The defense ministry announced plans on Thursday to initiate negotiations with the United States to secure access to nuclear fuel for the construction of nuclear-powered submarines. The ministry aims to conclude these discussions within a two-year timeframe.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry presented this strategy during a policy briefing to President Lee Jae Myung, reflecting South Korea's intensified efforts towards acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, a move supported by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Achieving access to nuclear fuel involves amending the bilateral nuclear energy agreement between South Korea and the U.S., although South Korean officials have suggested the possibility of a separate agreement.
The ministry's plan involves formulating a comprehensive blueprint next year, detailing South Korea's guiding principles for developing nuclear-powered submarines, construction plans, and its approach to nuclear nonproliferation. Additionally, the ministry intends to form a pangovernment body to classify the project as a national strategic initiative and to draft safety regulations and ordinances concerning the use of nuclear reactors in submarines.
Further, the ministry committed to advancing Seoul's aspiration to reclaim wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S., a goal the Lee administration aims to achieve by the conclusion of its five-year term in 2030. The South Korean military is working to complete the second phase of a three-stage program to evaluate Seoul's capabilities to lead the allies' combined forces by the next annual defense chiefs' meeting between the two nations, scheduled for November 2026.
During the recent Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed to pursue certification of "full operational capability"-the second stage of the assessment-next year and to develop a road map to accelerate the OPCON transfer. South Korea initially ceded operational control of its troops to the U.S.-led U.N. Command during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. This control was later transferred to the Combined Forces Command of the two allies upon its establishment in 1978. While South Korea regained peacetime OPCON in 1994, wartime OPCON remains under U.S. jurisdiction.