(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Min Seon-hee = It was expected that follow-up discussions in the security field would speed up due to progress in investment negotiations between Korea and the United States, but U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure to invest in Alaska's liquefied natural gas (LNG) has emerged as a new variable.
Korea's position is that it will consider participation in the Alaska LNG project by considering its commercial viability, but President Trump spoke as if Korea's $50 billion investment was a fait accompli, revealing the gap between Korea and the United States regarding investment in the United States.
The joint explanatory material (fact sheet) regarding investments in the United States released on the 1st included the statement, "We will begin work to promote the Alaska LNG project on the condition of commercial rationality and meeting the requirements of domestic law."
The Korean government explains that it has not confirmed its participation in the Alaska LNG project and that it intends to continue negotiations on whether to proceed.
On the other hand, President Trump unilaterally announced on the 1st that Korea would invest in the Alaska LNG project worth $50 billion, and on the 2nd he also pressured Korea, saying that if Korea does not agree to the investment, "we will soon charge twice as much."
President Trump did not reveal what he intended to double, but it is speculated that he may have meant investment funds or tariffs.
In response to President Trump's remarks, the government only said, "Both countries will steadily implement what was agreed upon in the joint explanatory material (fact sheet)," and "We plan to communicate closely with the United States in the process to ensure that it is beneficial to both countries."
The differences of opinion between Korea and the United States over Alaska LNG investment are likely to affect follow-up discussions in the security field that have been delayed.
There has been no clear progress in follow-up discussions on security areas, such as nuclear-powered submarines and nuclear energy cooperation, agreed at last year's ROK-US summit since the first meeting last June.
The government expected that security discussions would speed up once the investment project in the United States was officially announced on the 1st.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the time that the official announcement of the investment was expected to lead to discussions on specific schedules for security consultations, adding, "I think we will move forward with a sense of speed. We are hoping that it will gain more momentum than before."
A high-ranking official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said the following day that they had continued working-level contacts in the security field, but "we were not able to make progress as we wanted or expected," and added, "We plan to restart the security issue soon and proceed with negotiations as quickly as possible as we want."
However, as the Alaska LNG investment issue arises ahead of the resumption of security consultations, concerns are raised that the issue of investment in the United States may once again put a brake on security consultations.
As investment in the United States and security issues have been intertwined, discussions surrounding Alaska LNG may affect the atmosphere and speed of security discussions.
Go Myeong-hyeon, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said, "From our perspective, investment issues and security issues are somewhat connected, but not all of them are connected. However, the Trump administration's position seems to be a bit different."
As South Korea needs cooperation from the United States on issues such as nuclear-powered submarines, there was an aspect of using investment in the United States as a bargaining chip, but the Trump administration is linking investment and security issues more broadly.
In addition, given that President Trump is emphasizing the performance of investments in the United States ahead of the midterm elections in November, it appears that domestic political factors are also influencing the recent pressure to invest in Korea.
However, Chief Research Fellow Koh's analysis is that as the interests and negotiation conditions between South Korea and the United States are different for each security issue, such as nuclear-powered submarines and the transfer of wartime operational control, the degree to which it is intertwined with the investment issue may also vary.
Senior Research Fellow Koh advised, “If you look at each (security) issue, there are some areas where the understanding between Korea and the US is aligned and some areas where there is no agreement,” and added, “We have to deal with each case on a case-by-case basis.”
