CaliToday (30/10/2025): The AUKUS-style pact aims to deter North Korea and will give Seoul unprecedented undersea endurance, a move Beijing has already condemned as a "dangerous escalation."
In a monumental shift in regional defense cooperation, U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that Washington plans to share its highly sensitive nuclear-powered submarine technology with South Korea.
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| President Donald Trump shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as he receives a gift of a gold crown and an award of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, not seen, during a high honor ceremony at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press) |
The decision follows months of high-level, closed-door discussions between defense officials from both nations. It is seen as the cornerstone of a broader initiative to build a powerful, credible deterrent against North Korea’s rapidly expanding missile and nuclear arsenal.
This historic move would make South Korea only the second U.S. ally ever to gain access to this elite propulsion technology, following the landmark AUKUS pact with Australia.
A Quantum Leap in Naval Power
White House officials have stressed that the collaboration will be centered exclusively on nuclear propulsion systems, not nuclear weaponry.
This technology transfer will allow Seoul to leapfrog its current fleet of conventional diesel-electric vessels. Unlike those submarines, which must surface every few days to recharge batteries—making them vulnerable to detection—nuclear-powered submarines can operate almost silently for months at a time without surfacing.
This upgrade provides an extraordinary boost in stealth, range, and endurance, a capability the South Korean Navy has long sought amid increasing maritime tensions in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan.
In a statement, President Trump emphasized that the partnership will "fortify the Indo-Pacific alliance" and ensure a "free and open region" against rising Chinese and North Korean military assertiveness.
The AUKUS 2.0 and a Reshaped Asia
Defense analysts immediately noted that the deal directly mirrors the AUKUS pact (Australia, U.K., and U.S.) signed in 2021. That agreement, which also involved sharing nuclear propulsion technology, sparked a diplomatic firestorm, drawing condemnation from Beijing and angering France.
Extending similar technology to South Korea—a nation on the very frontline of North Korean aggression—is expected to completely reshape the power dynamics in Northeast Asia. It will force new security calculations from both China and North Korea.
Beijing has already signaled its strong opposition, with state media criticizing the move as a "dangerous escalation" that could "fuel a regional arms race."
For Seoul, however, the agreement represents a critical milestone in its defense modernization drive and solidifies its growing role as a global defense player. If finalized, the U.This U.S.–South Korea submarine partnership will not only redefine deterrence on the Korean Peninsula but also symbolize a new, deeper phase of allied alignment in the 21st-century Indo-Pacific order.