Seoul: South Korea remains committed to its original goal of building its envisioned nuclear-powered submarines at home, a senior presidential official said, as Seoul and Washington kicked off negotiations on the details of the project.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the official stated that the objective of constructing nuclear-powered submarines domestically is largely unchanged. This announcement came shortly after Seoul and Washington initiated consultations following U.S. support for South Korea's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines and uranium enrichment for fueling, discussed in a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.

During the bilateral talks held in Seoul, both nations discussed a timeline for further negotiations to advance the project. They agreed on the importance of close cooperation to achieve tangible results "as quickly as possible." South Korea's plan involves developing nuclear-powered, conventionally armed attack submarines, aiming to launch the first vessel by the mid-2030s to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

The discussions have consistently assumed that the submarines will be built within South Korea, and this premise was reinforced in the recent negotiations. The talks also productively addressed issues of uranium enrichment and reprocessing related to the submarine project. The official emphasized the intent to accelerate discussions to progress the project, aiming for concrete results by the end of the year, though no specific deadline has been established.

Regarding South Korea's efforts to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from Washington, the official noted that there are currently no significant differences over the timing of the planned transfer. Although there is a slight timing gap of about a year or slightly longer, it remains adjustable. The transition plan will be managed to ensure that the allies' combined defense capabilities remain uncompromised.

Regaining wartime OPCON from Washington is a central policy goal for President Lee, who aims to complete the transfer within his term, ending in 2030.