President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to charge South Korea more unless it signs off soon on the Alaska natural gas pipeline, escalating a dispute over his announcement of a $54 billion investment. “If they don't want to do it, that's okay with me. I'll just charge them more. Tell them if they don't sign shortly, I'm gonna double it up,” he said.

Seoul says “no decision has been made” on whether to invest or how much, and that it has agreed only to begin reviewing the liquefied natural gas project. President Lee Jae Myung has made participation conditional on commercial viability and compliance with South Korean law. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan objected to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the White House announcement went beyond their agreement.

Trump announced up to $200 billion in South Korean investment in US energy projects on Wednesday, including Alaska LNG, eight nuclear reactors and a $22.3 billion gas power facility in Encinal, Texas. The projects fall under Seoul’s broader $350 billion US investment commitment. Lee said nuclear investments also require an assessment of commercial viability for each plant.