US President Donald Trump has announced that South Korea will invest $200 billion in the United States. But Seoul says building a $54 billion pipeline for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska has not yet been finalised.
Trump announced the huge investment from the Oval Office on Wednesday (September 30) local time, Reuters reported.
Last year, as part of a trade deal with Washington, South Korea agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States. Under that broader strategic investment package, Seoul will invest $150 billion in shipbuilding and $200 billion in strategic investments.
“Under the deals my administration has made with South Korea, they will invest $200 billion,” Trump said. The investment will cover building eight large nuclear power plants, a natural gas pipeline and a 6-gigawatt power plant in Texas, he said.
It is the latest in a series of economic and investment deals Trump has announced before November’s midterm elections, as he tries to highlight his economic record amid voter concern over the Iran war and high fuel prices.
South Korea’s government, however, said the pipeline project would go ahead only if certain commercial and legal conditions are met. Seoul confirmed other parts of Trump’s announcement, saying $22.3 billion will be invested in a gas-fired power project in Texas to supply AI data centres and $120 billion in building eight nuclear reactors.
South Korea’s industry ministry said in a statement it would begin a review of the Alaska LNG project’s commercial viability and its compliance with legal procedures. “No decision has been made on whether to invest or how much,” the statement said. President Lee Jae-myung wrote on X that the commercial viability of both the LNG project and the nuclear reactors must be ensured before work begins.
Analysts in Seoul say that any disagreement between Seoul and Washington over the details of the deal could cause friction between the allies over its implementation.
If built, the Alaska LNG project would include an 807-mile pipeline carrying natural gas from the North Slope to a liquefaction plant on Alaska’s southern coast, allowing the fuel to be shipped to Asian markets. According to the White House, the project is planned to carry about 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas a day and produce up to 20 million tonnes of LNG a year.
Trump has repeatedly promoted the project as a way to boost US energy exports and strengthen ties with allies such as South Korea and Japan, but it has long faced uncertainty over cost, financing and commercial feasibility.
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