Seoul says nuclear submarine possible within 15 years after US nod

Seoul: South Korea expects to launch its first nuclear powered submarine by the late 2030s, a senior defence ministry official told ministers on Tuesd...

Seoul: South Korea expects to launch its first nuclear-powered submarine by the late 2030s, a senior defence ministry official told ministers on Tuesday, days after Washington had approved Seoul's plans.

US President Donald Trump last week said he had given ally Seoul a green light, after South Korea had announced that the two countries reached a broad deal covering investment and shipbuilding.

Trump, who was in South Korea for a regional summit, said on Truth Social that Seoul would manufacture its nuclear-powered submarine in "the Philadelphia Shipyards, right here in the good ol' U.S.A."

US nuclear submarine technology is considered among the most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.

Unlike diesel-powered submarines which must surface regularly to recharge their batteries, nuclear-powered ones can remain submerged for far longer periods of time.