Korea, U.S. agree to co-run uranium enrichment

Dec 04, 2025, 08:55 am

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President Lee Jae-myung answers questions from foreign correspondents during a press conference titled “One Year of Renewed Democracy” at the state guest house in Seoul on December 3. / Source: Yonhap News

On December 3, President Lee Jae-myung said South Korea and the United States have reached a “smooth agreement” on uranium enrichment cooperation, revealing that the two countries plan to run the project as a 50–50 partnership.

Speaking at a foreign press conference marking his first year of “renewed democracy,” Lee reiterated that Seoul remains firmly committed to the principle of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. “Denuclearization is a foundational agreement between the two Koreas, and we have no intention of deviating from it,” he said.

Lee stressed that discussions with Washington on uranium enrichment had progressed positively, adding that the cooperation would not undermine global nonproliferation norms. “A nuclear-powered submarine is military equipment, but it is not a nuclear weapon,” he said in response to questions about U.S. concerns linking South Korea’s nuclear submarine project to nuclear armament.

“The enrichment of nuclear uranium and the reprocessing of spent fuel have nothing to do with nuclear proliferation,” he said, emphasizing that Seoul’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines is unrelated to weapons programs.

Lee also said U.S. President Donald Trump had given explicit approval for South Korea to construct nuclear-powered submarines. “President Trump said, ‘If Korea produces enriched uranium on its own, there will be plenty left over,’ and proposed that we join the project as equal partners,” he said. According to Lee, the Trump administration has tasked Commerce Secretary Russ Lutnick with overseeing the arrangement.

He pointed out that Japan already operates a reprocessing program and extracts plutonium, noting that raising proliferation concerns at every stage would paralyze the entire system. “We are fully committed to nonproliferation,” he said. “We seek a Korea without nuclear weapons. If we were to arm ourselves with nuclear weapons, we would lose all authority to tell North Korea to abandon its own.”

Lee further warned that any move toward nuclear armament would trigger severe international repercussions. “No country, especially the United States—which is bound to us by a security treaty—would ever approve it,” he said. “Even the tactical nuclear weapons that once existed here were withdrawn long ago.”

“We would face crushing international sanctions and economic penalties. As some say, we would end up in the same situation as North Korea. Would the Korean people be willing to endure that? There is simply no need,” he said.

#uranium enrichment #nuclear submarine #U.S.–Korea cooperation #nonproliferation #Trump administration