Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back says South Korea has the technology to build a nuclear-powered submarine in less than ten years if nuclear fuel is available.

Appearing on a KBS program on Sunday, the defense minister added that while such projects typically take over a decade, experts believe the timeline can be shortened given the country’s current technical capabilities.

Regarding U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent statement that South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine would be built at a shipyard in Philadelphia, Ahn said that shipyard lacks the necessary facilities and emphasized that South Korea already has the technology and infrastructure, making domestic construction more feasible and sensible.

Ahn also discussed the outcome of last week’s South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting, explaining that both sides agreed to conduct the second-phase verification of South Korea’s defense readiness for the transfer of wartime operational control, or OPCON, next year.

The minister said the South Korean military has worked tirelessly for the past 20 years to meet the conditions for the OPCON transfer, noting that the first-phase verification was completed in 2019 under the three-stage program. 

Ahn continued that the second-phase evaluation was finished in 2022 and the allies agreed to carry out the verification process next year.