South Korea considers Alaska trip for gas project negotiations amid talks on US tariffs
South Korean industry ministry officials are considering travelling soon to Alaska as part of working-level negotiations between the United States and South Korea over Alaska’s gas project, the ministry said on Tuesday, amid efforts to delay U.S. tariffs.
If South Korea is able to win concessions from Washington over auto tariffs, Seoul could in turn look at participating in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Yonhap News Agency cited vice industry minister Choe Nam-ho as saying on Tuesday.
Still, no decision has been made on whether South Korea will join the project and whether its participation will be included in negotiations with the U.S. over tariffs, the ministry said in a statement after media reports suggesting participation in the project could be part of a negotiation package.
In the meantime, South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said on Tuesday that Seoul will try to delay reciprocal tariffs as much as possible by negotiations with the United States.
The priority was to delay the tariffs “as much as possible” to help reduce the uncertainty the country’s businesses face in the global market, he said, adding that from a “national interest perspective, the idea is to negotiate as much as possible and wrap it up under the new government.”
U.S. President Donald Trump hit Asia’s fourth-largest economy with 25% “reciprocal” tariffs earlier this month as he targeted dozens of countries with import duties as high as 49%. He has since paused their implementation by 90 days but has maintained a 10% blanket tariff on all imports.
The tariff shock comes as South Korea prepares to pick a new president in a snap election on June 3 after Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted this month over his short-lived martial law declaration.
The power vacuum has raised questions about the mandate of acting President Han Duck-soo and the direction of response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Han spoke to Trump last week in a phone call, while South Korea’s top trade envoy met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss lowering tariffs.
The South Korean finance minister said discussions between Trump and Han focused on reaching a solution that meets the allies’ mutual interests and includes cooperation in the shipbuilding sector and potential involvement in an Alaska gas pipeline project.
