South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan cautioned the White House against presenting a proposed energy project in Alaska as a finished deal during a discussion with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Kim stated that the US announcement's use of specific figures and assertions of progress exceeded initial agreements between the two nations. President Lee Jae Myung further clarified that South Korea will only participate in the Alaska LNG pipeline and export terminal if the project is commercially viable and remains compliant with South Korean law.

The dispute centers on a $200B investment package—part of a $350B trade deal to maintain a 15% tariff rate on Korean goods—that funds $120B for eight nuclear reactors and $22.3B for a 6.47 GW gas plant in Texas led by NextEra, which begins operations in 2029. The Alaska project, estimated between $50B and $54B, has been pitched by President Trump as a priority ahead of midterm elections in the state. Under the current legally binding agreement, annual US investments are capped at $20B, with profits shared 50-50 until the principal is recovered.