The decision was announced during the U.S. president's tour of Asia, which had South Korea as its final stop
The construction by the South Koreans of the aforementioned nuclear-powered submarine will take place at the Philadelphia shipyards. This represents a major achievement for shipbuilding in the United States, which has been in decline for decades and has lagged behind when compared to China's production.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Wednesday that South Korea has given its approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine on U.S. soil. The presidential announcement was made on the Truth Social platform following a tour of the Asian continent.
"South Korea has agreed to pay the United States 350 billion dollars in exchange for a reduction in the tariffs they are charged. In addition, they have agreed to purchase our oil and gas in large quantities, and investments in our country by wealthy South Korean companies and entrepreneurs will exceed 600 billion dollars," Trump wrote.
"Our military alliance is stronger than ever and, on that basis, I have given them approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, instead of the old and much less agile diesel-powered submarines they have now! A great trip, with a great president of South Korea," added the president of the superpower.
Trump had already set himself the goal of reviving the sector during a speech before Congress last March, when he announced that he would create a Naval Construction Office. "We used to make a lot of ships. We're going to make them very quickly, very soon," were the Republican's words at that time.
This Tuesday, in what appears to be retaliation for a U.S. investigation into China's dominance in global shipbuilding and in anticipation of the announced agreement, China's Ministry of Commerce announced Tuesday sanctions against five subsidiaries of the South Korean shipbuilding company Hanwha Ocean.
During his visit to South Korean soil, Trump was awarded the nation's highest honor during his visit, the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, in commemoration of his efforts to end wars around the world. Thus, the Republican leader became the first U.S. president to receive such an honor.
