Why the U.S. Must Deliver Full Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology to South Korea Now

Washington’s hesitation to empower Seoul’s nuclear capabilities isn’t prudence — it’s strategic self-sabotage as adversaries surge ahead.

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NOTE: My friend Fred Fleitz is a former Trump National Security Council Chief of Staff, a former CIA analyst, and a former senior staffer at the House Intelligence Committee. — RDM

by Fred Fleitz
April 25, 2026

In December 2025, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured a shipyard and inspected the completed hull of a supposed 8,700-ton nuclear-powered “strategic guided-missile submarine.” North Korea’s state-controlled media hailed this sub as a breakthrough in Pyongyang’s naval nuclear ambitions.

Just weeks earlier, President Trump announced that the United States would share closely held nuclear propulsion technology with Seoul, clearing the way for South Korea to build its own nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs).

Trump’s announcement was a long-overdue recognition of a strategic reality: in an…