A $50 billion investment deal touted by President Donald Trump during a Wednesday Oval Office event is running into pushback from the ally he says agreed to it.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters South Korea would invest more than $50 billion in the long-stalled Alaska LNG pipeline project, plus another $120 billion in U.S. nuclear power plants, as part of a "broader trade package."
That earned applause in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican who has pushed the pipeline for years, celebrated on X: "Alaska LNG is happening thanks to a $50 billion+ investment from South Korea that we announced today at the White House. This project will deliver low-cost energy for Alaskans for generations and create 10,000+ good-paying jobs. A historic day for our state!"
But South Korea's government says the celebration is premature, the Wall Street Journal reported early Thursday morning.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan pushed back on the U.S. framing, saying "the announcement went far beyond what was agreed, as the countries agreed to proceed with the Alaska project only on the premise that commercial reasonableness is guaranteed," according to the Korea Times.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung echoed the objection, insisting no blank check had been written.
"We agreed to begin working on the Alaska LNG project on the conditions that, first, its commercial viability is confirmed and, second, it complies with Korea's legal procedures," Lee said.
According to the Journal, Seoul has reportedly secured "a $20 billion annual investment ceiling and a $200 billion overall cap" as part of the broader trade framework, guardrails that leave the specific Alaska pipeline commitment far from finalized despite Wednesday's applause line.
"The clashing versions add another twist to protracted, and often contentious, talks between Washington and Seoul over last year’s trade pact. South Korea has pledged $350 billion in U.S. investments, plus an additional $100 billion for American energy purchases, in exchange for dropping tariffs on most goods from 25% to 15%," the Journal reported.