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Trump hits the gas on Alaska LNG pressure during summit with Lee

Published: 26 Aug. 2025, 19:19 Updated: 26 Aug. 2025, 19:36

President Lee Jae Myung gifts a fountain pen he used to write in the visitor's log at the White House to U.S. President Donald Trump during their summit in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS COPRS]

U.S. President Donald Trump raised the issue of Korea’s participation in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska during his summit with President Lee Jae Myung on Monday, a topic that had been left out of last month’s bilateral trade agreement.

"We have the greatest amount of energy in the world and we're dealing with South Korea, as you know, in Alaska," Trump said during the summit. "We're going to be making a deal, a joint venture with Korea. Japan is also very strongly involved.”

The Alaska LNG project, which Trump has championed since his first term, involves building a 1,300-kilometer (808-mile) pipeline from the gas-rich North Slope to the southern port of Nikiski, and linking it to long-term LNG purchase agreements.

Trump has repeatedly pressed Korea to participate, but Seoul has been reluctant due to the enormous risks — with initial costs alone estimated at about $44 billion. During last month’s trade talks, Korea agreed instead to purchase $100 billion worth of U.S. LNG and crude oil rather than invest directly in Alaska. Trump’s renewed pressure suggests Korea may now face additional burdens.

Regarding this, presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom said in a briefing Tuesday that “there were no specific working-level discussions on Alaska LNG.”

“This should be seen as a sign of how much interest Trump has in the project,” said a trade official. “Our government’s stance remains the same — we will continue active consultations with the United States while reviewing the business feasibility.”

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes President Lee Jae Myung at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The official added that Japan has not yet announced any concrete investment plans.

Trump also brought up U.S. weapons sales during his talks with Lee, noting that Korea is a "big purchaser of our military equipment" and pointed to the success of U.S. B-2 strategic bombers. This, too, was an issue not specifically discussed in the negotiations.

However, there remains the possibility that the purchase of U.S. weapons, subject to an increase in defense spending, will be discussed in detail in the future.

“Higher defense spending could lead to greater weapons purchasing power and improvements in national defense,” said presidential security adviser Wi Sung-lac. “Our government’s position is to purchase advanced U.S. weapons only in areas where they are essential, which aligns with the United States.”

After the summit, Trump said of the bilateral trade deal that Korea will honor the agreement “as promised.”

U.S. President Donald Trump and President Lee Jae Myung look on during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [UPI/YONHAP]

On July 30, Korea and the United States reached a verbal agreement under which Washington would lower reciprocal tariffs on Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent in return for $350 billion in Korean investment and $100 billion in U.S. energy purchases.

Trump’s latest comments were seen as an indication that both sides would now move to fine-tune the details. The two leaders did not mention contentious agricultural issues such as rice and beef market access, which had reportedly been sticking points in presummit negotiations.

Coinciding with the summit, Korean companies also pledged $150 billion in direct investment in the United States, separate from the $350 billion investment fund agreed upon during tariff negotiations. If both commitments are carried out, Korea’s total U.S. investment could exceed $500 billion.

The $350 billion package is expected to take the form of loans and guarantees. But details of how the fund will be structured and deployed were not finalized during the summit.

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 25. [AP/YONHAP]

For now, the two countries plan to allocate up to $150 billion for shipbuilding, with the remaining $200 billion directed toward strategic industries such as energy, minerals, batteries, pharmaceuticals and quantum computing.

Kim said the financial package would be implemented as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, with legal details still under discussion. He added that the government aims to design the package in a way that minimizes Korea’s burden.

However, he acknowledged that unresolved differences could still emerge during working-level consultations.

“We will put forward the issues important to us, while the United States will have its own expectations,” Kim said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM WON [[email protected]]