According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the government will push ahead next year with the program known as ‘Jangbogo-N’, a Korean nuclear-powered submarine, and will waive the project feasibility study. The target is to select a builder and sign a final contract in the second half of next year. The vessel is reported to be around 8,000 tons.

Under the Defense Acquisition Program Act, large defense projects normally require a feasibility study, but projects demanding extreme secrecy can be exempted. No budget figure has been disclosed. The government says the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses is still reviewing estimates; the only number on record is the roughly 28.9 trillion won that Planning and Budget Minister Park Hong-keun mentioned at a presidential meeting in May.

Talks on the nuclear agreement stand still

Building the boat requires a stable supply of fuel such as low-enriched uranium, and US atomic energy law calls for a separate agreement or further consultation between the two countries. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Seoul and Washington held a kickoff meeting on June 2-3 but have not held any in-person follow-up negotiation since.

The US midterm result adds another variable. Experts expect talks to become harder now that the Democrats control Congress, since the party has traditionally taken a stricter line than Republicans on nonproliferation norms and nuclear material controls. Actual negotiation dates and Congress's specific reaction have not been confirmed.

Diplomacy continues. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun left for France to attend a G7 foreign ministers' meeting, and if a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes place, ways to advance the agreement could be discussed. National Assembly Defense Committee chair Jin Sung-joon reported on his Nov. 1-5 visit to US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, relaying that a US Navy admiral there said Washington would cooperate actively once a policy decision is made between the two governments.

Experts diverge

Yu Ji-hoon of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said Seoul should present more clearly how a nuclear submarine would strengthen combined defense and regional maritime security, and hold substantive consultations that convey its commitment to nonproliferation and technical safety. Shin Jong-woo, secretary general of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said rushing construction while the agreement makes no headway lacks realism.

Shin warned that a feasibility study under these conditions might not pass, so the waiver could look like a shortcut to speed things up. Others point out that in a program worth tens of trillions of won, errors in cost estimates may go uncaught. How the government answers such criticism was not confirmed in this report.