▲ Newly appointed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during her first briefing (Note: Name matches original text context)
Newly appointed White House Press Secretary Katie Zachariah mentioned during her first official briefing on the 13th (local time) that South Korea will invest $54 billion—approximately 72.5 trillion won in Korean currency—into the Alaska LNG development project.
During the White House briefing that day, Press Secretary Zachariah stated that President Donald Trump "unveiled an energy investment package from South Korea worth up to $200 billion within the United States," adding, "This is an extraordinary agreement."
She continued, "This includes up to $120 billion to build eight large-scale nuclear reactors, which is what the United States needs and what President Trump promised during the presidential campaign," and added, "Just as President Trump keeps all his promises, he has fulfilled this one as well."
In particular, Zachariah stated, "$54 billion will be poured into building the Alaska LNG pipeline and terminal to supply energy to Trans-Pacific nations and sell fuel to allies, and $22.3 billion will go toward constructing a 6-gigawatt (GW) natural gas power plant in Texas."
Among these three projects, South Korea's position is that only the Texas gas power plant project has been finalized, while the remaining two require further consultations to verify their commercial viability.
Particularly regarding the Alaska LNG development project, South Korea has drawn a line, stating that the review of its commercial viability has just begun and that no decision has yet been made on whether to invest.
Zachariah, a former conservative broadcast commentator, was selected by President Trump to succeed Karoline Leavitt, the first press secretary of the second Trump administration.
She began her duties the previous day and held her first official briefing on this day.
The briefing lasted for a short duration of about 14 minutes.
Dedicate roughly the first 8 minutes to promoting President Trump's governance achievements, Press Secretary Zachariah only answered questions from three reporters she designated: Breitbart, Fox News, and NewsNation.
Afterward, she stated, "I will end the briefing here because President Trump is heading to Marine One for a historic trip to Alaska. You will be able to ask all your questions to the president there," before leaving the briefing room.
To the barrage of questions from reporters, she only replied, "The president will answer."
The previous day, U.S. CNN reported that Press Secretary Zachariah had repeatedly raised unfounded conspiracy theories on social media in the past claiming that Democratic figures and Hollywood celebrities were pedophiles.
Although questions regarding this issue were expected during the briefing, Zachariah effectively did not give any opportunity for inquiries.
In addition, Press Secretary Zachariah stated that she would continue former Press Secretary Leavitt's policy of actively accommodating new media outlets in the White House press corps, and that she would maintain her role as a conservative pundit to help the Republican Party in the midterm elections, alongside her duties as White House press secretary.
When asked whether the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, she did not give a direct answer, saying, "I will let you know later."
Press Secretary Zachariah mentioned that she has four children with her husband, aged 12, 10, 8, and 6.
She stated, "I want to include my family and children in my work as much as possible. Even though my job will be demanding, my children will always be my top priority."
She also emphasized, "President Trump is the most family-friendly president in history. He has hired more women with families, and the fact that the president still trusts me knowing that I have four children and that this job will be difficult shows that I am capable of handling this responsibility."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.