Trump Says South Korea and Japan Are Heading to Alaska With Fuel... But Are They?

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again dragged South Korea and Japan into discussions surrounding the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

While speaking about his visit to Alaska at the White House on Wednesday (local time), President Trump suddenly told reporters, "South Korea and Japan are heading to Alaska with fuel and oil, building pipelines, and doing all kinds of other things."

This implies that South Korea and others will participate in the Alaska LNG project, which aims to transport natural gas buried in North Slope, northern Alaska, to the south, liquefy it, and export it to Asia. The project is a massive infrastructure endeavor that requires building a new 1,300-kilometer gas pipeline.

With project costs estimated at approximately $44 billion, or about 60 trillion won in Korean currency, it stands as one of President Trump's core national policy tasks.

Previously, during a press conference on January 20 marking the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, President Trump mentioned, "We have started a massive project to export natural gas to Asia," adding, "We secured an unprecedented level of funds while concluding trade agreements with South Korea and Japan."

He was suggesting that the investment in the U.S. promised by South Korea and others would also be utilized for the Alaska project.

However, contrary to President Trump's grand boasts, it remains uncertain whether South Korea will actually participate in the Alaska LNG project.

While President Trump has repeatedly claimed to have secured South Korea's participation, South Korea maintains a reserved stance on the project due to concerns over business feasibility and profitability.

In November of last year, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan stated, "U.S. feasibility studies are underway," while drawing a line by saying, "Under current standards, direct investment is difficult."

Reported by Lee Ho-geon | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.