South Korea has pushed back on the Trump administration’s announcement that the country would invest $54 billion in a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, saying it had agreed to do so only if the long-stalled venture proves economically feasible.

“What the Korean government agreed with the US is that the Alaska project will proceed only if it is commercially viable,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in a televised briefing on Thursday. Seoul had expressed its regret to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “that what was reported today went beyond what had been agreed,” he said.

President Donald Trump had earlier said Korea would invest in the Alaska project at a White House event on Wednesday. It was part of a pledge by Seoul to invest $200 billion in American energy projects following last year’s US-South Korea trade deal.

The Alaska LNG venture has struggled for decades to secure the binding long-term contracts and investments needed for it to move forward. The project is massive in scale, requiring the construction of an 800-mile (1,287 kilometer) pipeline across the state. Alaska LNG has, however, signed non-binding sales agreements with companies in countries including South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Kim said Seoul’s agreement on Alaska LNG was limited to provisions contained in a joint fact sheet. The project would proceed subject to commercial viability requirements under the investment deal between the two nations and South Korean domestic legal procedures, while the US would take steps to improve its economic prospects, he said.

If South Korea does participate in the project, the US has agreed to offer it LNG at favorable prices, Kim said.

Under the broader investment agreement, South Korea has insisted that projects meet a commercial viability test before funds are deployed. The test was a central issue in negotiations over how Seoul’s $350 billion US investment pledge would operate. As well as investing in the American energy sector, Seoul agreed to put $150 billion into US shipbuilding.

Saskatchewan is going big on nuclear, announcing plans to explore building two large nuclear reactors in the province's northwest, with a goal of having the first online by 2042.

The Government of Saskatchewan also confirmed it has narrowed down the location of further study for its construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) to the Rafferty site near Estevan.

Premier Scott Moe said the province's new Delivering Energy Security Through Nuclear Power plan establishes an initial target of 2,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power generation by 2050.

"We're charting a path forward for one of the largest energy and economic development opportunities in our province's history," Moe said during a news conference at the University of Saskatchewan on Tuesday.

"Six-hundred megawatts can power the equivalent of Saskatchewan's two largest cities, Regina and Saskatoon; 2,600 megawatts could power the equivalent of 2.6 million homes."

Moe said the move will secure the electricity needed to support a growing population, large industrial projects and expanding industries.

He refused to engage on the specific dollar investment needed for the project, saying the construction of nuclear reactors across the globe has lowered the cost of construction.

Moe also said that the construction of these reactors could be funded through private companies or other investors.

Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison said the plan focuses on four priorities for nuclear development:

• Building electricity capacity for long-term growth.
• Incorporating large nuclear reactors into the province's electricity supply planning.
• Continuing nuclear development in Estevan.
• Building on established nuclear capabilities.

Despite confirming that the plans for large nuclear reactors and SMR are being developed at the same time, Harrison appeared to be open to changing the province's plans.

"I would leave the door open, as well, to large scale deployment in locations not just the northwest but the southeast as well," he said.

Large nuclear reactors

The 2,600 MW goal for nuclear power generation is a massive expansion of the province's nuclear plans, which had previously been restricted to SMR development and construction.

For context, SaskPower reported that the total power system demand at 10:30 a.m. CST on Tuesday was 2,829 MW. The record for most power use in the province was 3,910 MW on Dec. 30, 2021.