Key facts
- Kang said Seoul's participation in the Alaska LNG project is subject to commercial reasonableness and domestic legal requirements.
- The White House previously said $54 billion was tied to the Alaska project; Seoul says participation remains subject to a commercial viability review.
- Kang said the two governments agreed on a framework for up to $120 billion in Korean investment in eight US nuclear reactors.
- Kang did not specify an investment figure for the Alaska project.
South Korea's top envoy to the United States, Kang Kyung-wha, reaffirmed Seoul's willingness to cooperate on a proposed Alaska liquefied natural gas project while emphasizing commercial and legal conditions for participation, in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on November 11.
"Korea and the U.S. have also agreed to commence working on the Alaska LNG project, subject to meeting commercial reasonableness and applicable domestic legal requirements," Kang wrote. She did not specify an investment figure for the Alaska project.
The remarks came amid differences between Seoul and Washington over the status of the proposed project. The White House previously said $54 billion was tied to the Alaska project, but Seoul has maintained that its participation remains subject to a commercial viability review.
Kang said the two governments had agreed on a framework for up to $120 billion in Korean investment to build eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the United States. "This would involve up to $120 billion in Korean investment in eight large-scale reactors to be built by Korean and American companies," she wrote.
She also stressed the importance of mutual trust and honoring commitments as the alliance expands into advanced technologies and other strategic sectors. "As our cooperation expands into advanced technologies and other strategic sectors, long-term success will depend not simply on short-term opportunities but on reliable partners and mutual confidence that commitments will be honored," she wrote.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to "charge" South Korea "more" if it does not agree to invest in the Alaska project. "If they don't want to do it, that's okay with me. I'll just charge them more," Trump said.