Korea protests US' unilateral announcement on Alaska LNG project

Korea on Thursday protested a U.S. announcement on the Alaska LNG and nuclear reactor projects, saying it retains discretion over whether to invest. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said he raised the issue with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after the White House presentation went beyond what had been agreed. Seoul said the projects remain subject to commercial reasonableness checks and domestic procedures.

President Lee Jae Myung said Korea agreed to begin working on the Alaska LNG project only if its commercial viability is confirmed and it complies with Korea’s legal procedures.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said nothing has been decided on whether to invest in Alaska LNG or on the size of any investment.

The Korean government set an annual investment ceiling of $20 billion and an overall cap of $200 billion, with funds to be deployed in stages according to project milestones.

The joint U.S.-Korea factsheet said work on Alaska LNG would begin only if the project meets the commercial reasonableness standard under the investment MOU and all domestic legal requirements.

Kim Jung-kwan said the nuclear reactor plan covers eight units, but individual projects have not been finalized and candidate sites still need to be examined for commercial viability.

Published Oct 1, 2026 4:01 pm KST

Seoul reaffirms LNG, nuclear projects still under review

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan speaks during a briefing at Government Complex Seoul, Sept. 22. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources

Korea on Thursday stressed that it retains discretion in deciding whether to invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear reactor projects in the U.S., refuting the U.S. side's announcement that implied the two countries confirmed proceeding with the projects.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said he lodged a protest with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick over "the announcement that went far beyond what was agreed."

This came after U.S. President Donald Trump presented the Alaska LNG project and plans for eight nuclear reactors alongside a $22.3 billion Texas combined-cycle gas power plant as part of Korea's $200 billion strategic investment package during an announcement at the White House in Washington on Wednesday (local time).

“Thanks to the agreements my administration has secured with the Republic of Korea, they will invest up to $200 billion. That's the Korean government, $200 billion to build a six-gigawatt power generation facility in Texas … Eight new large-scale nuclear power plants, and at long last, the Alaska liquefied natural gas pipeline,” Trump said. Lutnick also said, “... just over $50 billion invested in Alaska for the Alaska LNG project.”

The discrepancy is significant as Seoul had been classifying the Texas power plant as the only project formally selected under the strategic investment framework, while treating the nuclear and Alaska projects as matters requiring further negotiations and review.

The Korean government made it clear that any commitments will be subject to “commercial reasonableness” standards and required domestic procedures, signaling that Seoul does not regard the projects, especially the LNG one, as a finalized investment commitment.

"We agreed to begin working on the Alaska LNG project on the conditions that, first, its commercial viability is confirmed and, second, it complies with Korea’s legal procedures ... For nuclear power plants as well, commercial viability must be guaranteed on a plant-by-plant basis," President Lee Jae Myung wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources also said that the Alaska LNG project will undergo a review process under the two countries’ memorandum of understanding (MOU), adding that “nothing has been decided regarding whether to invest or the size of any investment.”

"This morning (after the announcement), I lodged a strong protest with Lutnick as the announcement went far beyond what was agreed, as the countries agreed to proceed with the Alaska project only on the premise that commercial reasonableness is guaranteed," Kim told reporters.

"He said he understands Korea's concerns and suggested the two countries make efforts to make the project successful."

U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, back row left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday (local time). EPA

The joint U.S.-Korea factsheet released with Trump’s announcement also states the two countries have agreed to "commence working on" the Alaska LNG project when it meets the commercial reasonableness standard under the investment MOU and all applicable domestic legal requirements.

The document says the U.S. will seek to facilitate Korean suppliers' participation and ensure offtake agreements for the project “at economically viable prices,” as well as Korea’s priority access to LNG produced by the project.

Kim has repeatedly acknowledged that the Alaska project faces commercial challenges, saying the project's commercial reasonableness is low and Seoul would not proceed if the project fails to meet the condition, even if it offered strategic benefits.

The government plans to examine factors including permitting delays, labor shortages, weather conditions and technical issues. It is also seeking measures from Washington that could improve the project's economics, including relief on tariffs for steel and other equipment, adjustments on taxes and long-term LNG offtake arrangements.

"The U.S. told us it plans to transfer the business license of the project from private companies to the federal government," Kim said. "In such case, permission and labor shortage challenges may improve."

A similar discrepancy can be seen in the nuclear reactor project. The two countries agreed on a broad framework for eight reactors — two APR1400s and six AP1000s — but have yet to finalize individual projects.

Lutnick also named Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky as states where the nuclear reactors will be built. But Kim said, "Those are states that want to build nuclear power plants. When the project develops, we expect the U.S. to provide us with the candidate regions."

He said building nuclear reactors require many conditions, such as water supply and hard bedrock, adding the government will look into whether the candidate sites are the best options for commercial viability.

The Korean government has also secured an annual investment ceiling of $20 billion and an overall cap of $200 billion, with funds to be deployed in stages according to project milestones rather than transferred upfront.

Lee also stressed an arrangement under which profits will be split equally between Korea and the U.S. until the principal and interest of "all projects are repaid."

A trade expert said Trump's announcement could be viewed as a political move intended to put symbolic pressure on Korea ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, particularly given the political significance of the Alaska project.

“Alaska's Senate seat is currently held by a Republican, but a Democratic candidate is closing in, so this is a symbolic push to help politically,” the expert said.

He added that the investment would also face practical constraints.

“We have a $20 billion annual cap, but the Texas project alone is already worth more than $22 billion. Even if we want to do the Alaska project this year, we can't,” he said. “Japan is mixing in things like loans, but we have to take cash, so it cannot happen unless commercial reasonableness is guaranteed.”

韩国周四就美国宣布的阿拉斯加液化天然气和核反应堆项目提出抗议，称韩国保留是否投资的自主权。韩国产业通商资源部长官金正宽表示，白宫的介绍超出了此前商定的范围，他已就此问题与美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克进行了沟通。首尔方面表示，这些项目仍需经过商业合理性审查和国内程序。

李在明总统表示，韩国同意在阿拉斯加液化天然气项目商业可行性得到确认且符合韩国法律程序的前提下，开始该项目的工作。

贸易、工业和资源部表示，尚未决定是否投资阿拉斯加液化天然气项目，也未决定投资规模。

韩国政府设定了每年200亿美元的投资上限和2000亿美元的总投资上限，资金将根据项目里程碑分阶段部署。

美韩联合发布的情况说明书称，阿拉斯加液化天然气项目只有在符合投资谅解备忘录规定的商业合理性标准和所有国内法律要求的情况下才会开工。

金正冠表示，核反应堆计划涵盖八个机组，但具体项目尚未最终确定，候选地点的商业可行性仍需进行考察。

发布于2026年10月1日下午4:01（韩国标准时间）

首尔重申液化天然气和核能项目仍在审查中

9月22日，产业通商资源部长官金正冠在首尔政府大楼举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。图片由产业通商资源部提供。

韩国周四强调，对于是否投资美国阿拉斯加液化天然气（LNG）和核反应堆项目，韩国保留自主决定权，驳斥了美方暗示两国已确认推进这些项目的声明。

工业部长官金正冠表示，他已就“远远超出双方约定范围的声明”向美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克提出抗议。

此前，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三（当地时间）在华盛顿白宫宣布，作为韩国 2000 亿美元战略投资计划的一部分，将阿拉斯加液化天然气项目和八座核反应堆以及一座价值 223 亿美元的德克萨斯州联合循环燃气发电厂纳入其中。

“感谢我的政府与韩国达成的协议，他们将投资高达2000亿美元。这指的是韩国政府，2000亿美元用于在德克萨斯州建造一座6吉瓦的发电厂……8座新的大型核电站，以及最终建成的阿拉斯加液化天然气管道，”特朗普说道。卢特尼克也表示，“……超过500亿美元的投资将用于阿拉斯加液化天然气项目。”

这一差异意义重大，因为首尔方面一直将德克萨斯州的发电厂列为战略投资框架下唯一正式选定的项目，而将核电项目和阿拉斯加项目视为需要进一步谈判和审查的事项。

韩国政府明确表示，任何承诺都将受到“商业合理性”标准和国内必要程序的约束，这表明首尔并不认为这些项目，特别是液化天然气项目，是最终的投资承诺。

“我们同意开始推进阿拉斯加液化天然气项目，前提是：首先，该项目的商业可行性得到确认；其次，该项目符合韩国的法律程序……对于核电站来说，商业可行性也必须逐个电厂地得到保证。”李在明总统周四在X（前身为Twitter）上写道。

贸易、工业和资源部还表示，阿拉斯加液化天然气项目将根据两国签署的谅解备忘录进行审查，并补充说，“关于是否投资或投资规模，尚未做出任何决定”。

金告诉记者：“今天早上（宣布之后），我向卢特尼克提出了强烈抗议，因为该声明远远超出了双方达成的协议，而两国同意推进阿拉斯加项目仅仅是在保证商业合理性的前提下进行的。”

“他表示理解韩国的担忧，并建议两国共同努力，使该项目取得成功。”

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三（当地时间）在华盛顿白宫椭圆形办公室与美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克（后排左一）共同宣布一项消息。（图片来源：美国环保署）

与特朗普的声明一同发布的美国和韩国联合情况说明书还指出，两国已同意，当阿拉斯加液化天然气项目符合投资谅解备忘录中的商业合理性标准以及所有适用的国内法律要求时，两国将“开始着手”该项目。

文件称，美国将寻求促进韩国供应商参与该项目，并确保以“经济可行的价格”签订承购协议，以及确保韩国优先获得该项目生产的液化天然气。

金正恩多次承认阿拉斯加项目面临商业挑战，称该项目的商业合理性较低，即使该项目具有战略意义，如果不能满足相关条件，首尔也不会推进。

政府计划审查包括审批延误、劳动力短缺、天气状况和技术问题在内的各种因素。同时，政府也在寻求华盛顿方面采取措施，以改善该项目的经济效益，包括降低钢铁和其他设备的关税、调整税收以及签订长期液化天然气承购协议。

金说：“美国方面告诉我们，他们计划将该项目的营业执照从私营公司移交给联邦政府。在这种情况下，审批和劳动力短缺的问题可能会有所改善。”

类似的差异也体现在核反应堆项目上。两国就八座反应堆（两座APR1400型和六座AP1000型）的总体框架达成一致，但尚未最终敲定具体项目。

卢特尼克还提到俄亥俄州、田纳西州、南卡罗来纳州和肯塔基州也将是核反应堆的选址地。但金表示：“这些州都希望建设核电站。项目推进后，我们希望美国方面能提供候选区域名单。”

他表示，建造核反应堆需要许多条件，例如供水和坚硬的基岩，并补充说，政府将研究候选地点是否是商业可行性的最佳选择。

韩国政府还设定了每年 200 亿美元的投资上限和 2000 亿美元的总投资上限，资金将根据项目里程碑分阶段部署，而不是预先转移。

李还强调，在“所有项目的本金和利息偿还完毕”之前，利润将在韩国和美国之间平均分配。

一位贸易专家表示，考虑到阿拉斯加项目的政治意义，特朗普的声明可能被视为一项政治举措，旨在美国中期选举前对韩国施加象征性压力。

这位专家说：“阿拉斯加州的参议院席位目前由共和党人占据，但一位民主党候选人正在迎头赶上，所以这是一次象征性的推动，旨在从政治上帮助民主党。”

他还补充说，这项投资还会面临实际的限制。

“我们每年的投资上限是200亿美元，但仅德克萨斯州的项目就价值超过220亿美元。即使我们想在今年启动阿拉斯加项目，也做不到，”他说道。“日本方面提出提供贷款之类的方案，但我们必须接受现金，所以除非商业合理性得到保证，否则项目无法进行。”