U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 14th local time that "large-scale oil, gas, and mineral exploration in Greenland is set to begin soon."

President Trump made the remarks in a post on Truth Social early that morning, claiming, "Some experts say that easily extractable oil reserves here are far greater than anywhere else in the world."

"Above all, the security value of Greenland in terms of U.S. and European defense and offense is unparalleled," President Trump emphasized. "Any future attack toward the United States will have to pass through Greenland, and our military will routinely shoot down drones, missiles, or any other form of weaponry right there."

"It provides time, geographic advantage, and visibility like nowhere else in the world," President Trump added.

However, the Greenlandic government has strongly refuted President Trump's claims, CNN reported.

Jørgen Hammeken-Holm, Deputy Minister for Mineral Resources of Greenland, said in an interview with CNN, "There are activities by U.S. companies," but added, "Our position is very far from large-scale exploration."

"While many small-scale explorations are currently underway, it could take years for them to reach the actual operational stage," he said, reiterating the views of researchers who have highlighted the difficulties and massive costs of resource extraction in Greenland.

According to CNN, Greenland's resource deposits are located in a remote Arctic region where the ice sheet alone is 1.6 kilometers thick, with virtually no infrastructure.

Since the start of his second term, President Trump has caused friction with Europe by expressing ambitions to annex Danish-territory Greenland—arguing that it plays a crucial role in U.S. defense—even suggesting the use of force.

When this brought the transatlantic alliance to the brink of collapse in January of this year, President Trump backed down, saying he would resolve the Greenland issue through negotiations.

After months of talks, the United States, Denmark, and Greenland signed a trilateral security agreement last month aimed at strengthening the U.S. military presence in Greenland.

Under the agreement, the United States will construct two large military bases in Greenland and significantly increase its stationed troops.

However, according to CNN, the agreement does not explicitly mention oil or gas, containing only provisions for cooperation on "minerals" and "economic development and business promotion."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)