Trump’s Alaska LNG claim shows who really runs the US-South Korea alliance



Analysis Trump’s Alaska LNG claim shows who really runs the US-South Korea alliance With no one below the president owning the file, Seoul’s nuclear and submarine goals now wait on Trump’s investment wins Sooyoung OhOctober 8, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office during an announcement on South Korean investment in U.S. energy projects, Sept. 30, 2026 \| Image: White House via Twitter Standing in the Oval Office on Sept. 30 beside Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican in a close reelection race, President Donald Trump announced that South Korea would invest about $54 billion in the long-delayed Alaska liquefied natural gas project. The joint announcement released the same day said only that the two sides would begin work on the project if it proved commercially sound and lawful in both countries, and it named no figure. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reportersthe next day that he had lodged a strong objection with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, adding that Washington appeared to © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01South Korea’s missile defense push raises new questions over wartime stocks 02South Korea bank hacks expose weak links beyond core financial systems 03Lee-Zelensky feud exposes South Korea’s widening Ukraine policy dilemma 04Lee Jae Myung’s ‘pacemaker’ strategy tests South Korea’s leverage with Trump 05Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls 06North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy 07South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 08AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline

Analysis

Trump’s Alaska LNG claim shows who really runs the US-South Korea alliance

With no one below the president owning the file, Seoul’s nuclear and submarine goals now wait on Trump’s investment wins

Sooyoung OhOctober 8, 2026

Trump’s Alaska LNG claim shows who really runs the US-South Korea alliance

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office during an announcement on South Korean investment in U.S. energy projects, Sept. 30, 2026 | Image: White House via Twitter

Standing in the Oval Office on Sept. 30 beside Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican in a close reelection race, President Donald Trump announced that South Korea would invest about $54 billion in the long-delayed Alaska liquefied natural gas project.

The joint announcement released the same day said only that the two sides would begin work on the project if it proved commercially sound and lawful in both countries, and it named no figure.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reportersthe next day that he had lodged a strong objection with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, adding that Washington appeared to

Trump’s Alaska LNG claim shows who really runs the US-South Korea alliance

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Sooyoung Oh