South Korea and the United States finalized a joint fact sheet on trade and security, concluding months of fraught negotiations, President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Friday.
“We have finalized the Korea–US trade and security consultations, which had been the biggest variable,” Lee said in Seoul, expressing gratitude to US President Donald Trump for his “rational decision,” which played a major role in reaching the agreements.
The Korean leader said,
-South Korea and the US have agreed to move forward with building nuclear-powered submarines.
-S. Korea secured US support for right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
-The US supports S. Korea's commitment to regaining wartime operational control from Washington.
The announcement comes about two weeks after Seoul and Washington sorted out details about a reduction of US tariffs on South Korean imports, including cars; South Korea's investment in US projects; and the allies' security cooperation, in which the US agreed to allow South Korea to build and operate nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement was reached soon after Lee and President Trump met on Oct. 29 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
The White House released a joint fact sheet on Lee-Trump summit on its website.
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