South Korea’s Defense Ministry has established a dedicated unit to oversee the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine, as Seoul moves the project forward following recent discussions with the United States.
The ministry said Wednesday that it had established the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Acquisition Promotion Team as a temporary task force under the Defense Policy Bureau, which oversees military capability development.
Previously, related work had been handled by the Defense Policy Division within the same bureau.
It is the first time the name of a government body has included the term “nuclear-powered submarine.” A past effort, pursued secretly during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, used a codename instead — Project 632 — before being shelved after about a year.
A Defense Ministry official said the task force was established to lead efforts to begin construction of a nuclear-powered submarine within the current administration’s term.
“The vice defense minister is directly overseeing the team, which reports to the defense minister, and experts from the Defense Ministry and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration are participating,” the official said.
The new task force will now take responsibility for coordinating between members of an interagency consultative body formed in December to support the submarine project.
The interagency body included 10 government organizations: the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Navy, and seven ministries.
A separate military official said South Korea has completed “two years of negotiations with the US on the issue and plans” to push ahead with the project swiftly within the current administration.
The Defense Ministry has previously stated in a presidential policy briefing that it aims to begin construction of a nuclear-powered submarine in 2028, with a goal of completing the project by the mid-2030s.
The establishment of the unit also follows high-level discussions between Seoul and Washington on the matter.
During last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump agreed to continue discussions on South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines.
The discussions were held as part of broader consultations on alliance deterrence and advanced military capabilities.
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