South Korea to invest $200 billion in US, announces Trump

US President Donald Trump has announced plans for nearly $200 billion in investment in various projects in the United States. He made the announcement at the Oval Office on Wednesday. However, South Korea said a final decision has not yet been made on the construction of a $54 billion pipeline for Alaska's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which is a key part of the investment plan.

Under a trade deal signed between Washington and Seoul last year, South Korea has a total investment pledge of $350 billion. Of this, $150 billion has been allocated for the shipbuilding sector and $200 billion for strategic investment.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said that under the deal his administration made with South Korea, the country will invest up to $200 billion in the United States. He said the investment will include the construction of eight large nuclear power plants, a natural gas pipeline and a 6-gigawatt power plant in Texas.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said South Korea will invest up to $200 billion in the United States as part of the deal made with his administration. Under this investment, eight large nuclear power plants, a natural gas pipeline and a 6-gigawatt power plant in Texas will be built.

The new announcement is part of the economic and investment deals the Trump administration is highlighting ahead of the midterm elections in November. Trump is bringing the administration's economic activities and investment initiatives to the forefront amid voters' concerns over the war with Iran and high fuel oil prices.

The Alaska pipeline project is also politically important. The state's Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is running for re-election against Democratic candidate Mary Peltola. Sullivan was also present at Trump's announcement event on Wednesday.

However, South Korea said the investment in the Alaska pipeline project will be advanced only after specific commercial and legal conditions are met. The country's government confirmed the other investment matters in Trump's announcement. These include a $22.3 billion investment in a gas-based power project in Texas to supply electricity to AI-based data centres and a $120 billion investment in building eight nuclear reactors.

South Korea's Ministry of Industry said in a statement that the commercial viability of the Alaska LNG project and its compatibility with legal procedures will be verified. No decision has yet been made on whether to invest or how much the investment will be.

In a post on social media, the country's President Lee Jae-myung said the commercial viability of these projects must be confirmed before taking the next steps in the LNG project and nuclear reactor construction.

If the Alaska LNG project is implemented, an 807-mile-long pipeline will be built to supply natural gas from the North Slope to a gas liquefaction plant on Alaska's southern coast. It is then planned to export LNG from there to various Asian markets.

According to the White House, the project will be able to transport nearly 3.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. There are also plans to produce up to 20 million metric tonnes of LNG per year.

Glenfarne, the developer of the Alaska project, has welcomed Trump's investment announcement. The company said it has already received commitments or assurances to buy 13 million metric tonnes of gas per year. However, an additional 3 million metric tonnes of gas purchase commitment is needed to make a final investment decision and turn these commitments into binding contracts.

Glenfarne said in a statement that it will work with the US and South Korean governments to finalise the investment structure and complete the remaining steps needed to reach a final investment decision.

Trump has long presented the Alaska project as a way to increase US energy exports and strengthen ties with allied countries such as South Korea and Japan. However, uncertainty remains over the project's cost, financing and commercial viability.

Meanwhile, an initiative has been taken to increase nuclear power generation capacity as demand grows in power-intensive industries such as data centres and manufacturing in the United States. As part of this, there are plans to build eight nuclear power plants. South Korea is also continuing discussions on potential investment in various US nuclear projects as part of a larger investment package.

The gas-based power plant in Texas is expected to be used to supply electricity to high-power-demand installations such as semiconductor factories and data centres.