South Korea Urges Faster Adoption of Nuclear-Powered Submarines

Lee on Tuesday urged faster efforts to secure the submarines, describing them as core strategic assets for the country’s future defence capabilities. “We need to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence and drone technologies, while speeding up the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines,” Lee said during a meeting with defence officials. He described the envisioned submarines as “a symbol of our will to take responsibility for peace and security on the Korean peninsula”. Those agreements included US cooperation on Seoul’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines – a long-sought capability that would allow South Korean vessels to remain submerged much longer than its current diesel-powered fleet, but one that would also require sensitive arrangements over nuclear fuel and safeguards.