China reminds South Korea of NPT obligations after Trump OKs nuclear submarine

President Xi Jinping of China is welcomed to Korea by Overseas Minister Cho Hyun upon his arrival at Gimhae Worldwide Airport in Busan on Oct. 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Yonhap)

China expressed unease about US President Donald Trump’s Thursday put up on Fact Social that he had given South Korea the inexperienced gentle to construct a nuclear-powered submarine. 

“Our Navy Alliance [with Korea] is stronger than ever earlier than and, based mostly on that, I’ve given them approval to construct a Nuclear Powered Submarine, moderately than the old style, and much much less nimble, diesel powered Submarines that they’ve now,” the US president wrote. 

Trump was responding to Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s public request the day earlier than for Trump to permit Korea to buy gas for nuclear-powered submarines.

China instantly shot again by urging Korea and the US to “fulfill their nuclear non-proliferation obligations.”

Since Korea is about to carry a summit with Chinese language President Xi Jinping, who arrived in Korea on Thursday for his first state go to in 11 years, the Korean authorities is left to grapple with this tough problem.

“China hopes that the ROK [i.e., South Korea] and the US will earnestly fulfill their nuclear non-proliferation obligations and do what’s conducive to regional peace and stability, not in any other case,” Chinese language Overseas Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun mentioned in a daily briefing on Thursday.

Guo additionally pressured that China has been a persistently dependable guardian of regional peace and welfare, strolling the trail of peaceable growth and sustaining a neighborly overseas coverage and an completely defensive coverage on nationwide protection.

Since Korea shouldn’t be a nuclear-weapon state, creating and working nuclear-powered submarines would require cooperation from the US, which leads the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a corporation that controls exports of nuclear gas. Korea would even have to steer worldwide organizations such because the Worldwide Atomic Power Company to confirm that its nuclear-powered submarines weren’t a violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT.

Beneath these circumstances, China’s remarks about Korea and the US “fulfilling their nuclear non-proliferation obligations” and “doing what’s conducive to regional peace and stability” comprise a twofold message: that Korean development of nuclear-powered submarines is likely to be in violation of the NPT, and that such an effort might increase navy tensions within the area.

China’s hackles are raised by the likelihood that possession of nuclear-powered submarines might combine South Korea extra absolutely within the US’ technique of containing China.

In his summit with the US on Thursday, Lee argued that Korean nuclear-powered submarines have been wanted to cut back the burden on the US navy. “Since diesel submarines are poor at underwater motion, they might be restricted of their potential to trace North Korean or Chinese language submarines,” the South Korean president mentioned.

Whereas Lee later downplayed his reference to “Chinese language submarines” by claiming he had not meant to single out the submarines of any explicit nation, the comment inevitably put China on its guard.

Guo’s emphasis on common ideas and his use of the tactful phrase “hopes” within the press convention might sign that Xi needs to debate the problem with out spoiling the temper in his state go to to Korea and summit with Lee.

“In mentioning the ‘nonproliferation’ precept, China was voicing misgivings about Korea siding absolutely with the US in its strategic rivalry with China. For a Chinese language viewers, Korea must clarify that nuclear-powered submarines could be meant to function deterrence in opposition to North Korea and take steps to marginalize requires nuclear armament or nuclear latency within the home market,” emphasised Lee Sang-kyu, the chief analyst for nuclear safety on the Korea Institute for Protection Analyses.

By Park Min-hee, senior workers author; Jang Ye-ji, workers reporter

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