US Vice President: "Alaska LNG Project Still Has Details to Discuss With South Korea"

"The Project Will Be Realized"

Vance Acknowledges Ongoing Negotiations

U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated on the 5th (local time) that there are still additional details to be discussed with South Korea regarding the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development project. This acknowledged that negotiations are ongoing, in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier statement that South Korea’s investment participation had been finalized.

Vice President JD Vance. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Before departing for Alaska that day, Vice President Vance met with reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC, and commented on the Alaska LNG project, saying, "Clearly, there are still several details to coordinate, and South Korea has also pointed that out."

However, he remained optimistic about the likelihood of moving the project forward. Vice President Vance said, "This pipeline is a project that we really want to bring to fruition, and many friends in Asia feel the same way. Japan, not just South Korea, also wants to see this pipeline constructed," he said.

He then added, "So I believe this project will materialize," emphasizing, "Because the demand for U.S.-produced natural gas is very strong, I am confident that we can make this happen."

The Alaska LNG project is a large-scale energy initiative that involves building about 800 miles (approximately 1,300 km) of pipeline to transport natural gas produced in Alaska’s northernmost North Slope to Nikiski in the south, as well as constructing an LNG export terminal.

Vice President Vance’s comments today reveal a somewhat different stance from President Trump, who has consistently emphasized that South Korea’s investment in the Alaska LNG project has already been finalized.

On September 30, President Trump announced South Korea’s strategic investment plan in the U.S. at the White House and identified the Alaska LNG project as one of South Korea’s investment projects. At that time, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick also said that more than $50 billion would be invested in the Alaska project.

However, the official statements published by the governments of both countries have been more cautious.

According to the South Korean government, the two countries have agreed to begin a review of the Alaska LNG project as a priority; a decision on whether to move forward with the project will be made only if 'commercial viability' and domestic legal requirements stipulated in the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) are met.

The South Korean government has thus maintained that neither the investment decision nor the investment scale in the Alaska LNG project has been finalized.

On October 2, President Trump made further pressuring remarks about South Korea's stance. When a reporter asked, "South Korea has not yet approved investment in the Alaska pipeline and says the review is ongoing. Wasn’t it announced prematurely?" President Trump replied, "I did not make a premature announcement."

He then added, "If they don't want it, that's fine. We'll just impose more," and after being told that South Korea had not yet signed, he said, "Let them know that if they don't sign soon, we'll double it."

However, President Trump did not specify what exactly he would 'impose more' or 'double.'

This is the first time since President Trump's pressuring remarks that a senior U.S. administration official, Vice President Vance, has publicly acknowledged that further negotiations with South Korea are necessary.

Vice President Vance was heading to Alaska that day to support Republican Senator Dan Sullivan’s campaign for the midterm elections.

Alaska has traditionally been a Republican stronghold, but in this Senate race, Senator Sullivan is facing a tight race against Democratic candidate Mary Peltola.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.