South Korea Confirms U.S. Is Jumping The Gun: No, They Don't Have A Deal On Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline
Korean officials confirm no deal exists to invest in Alaska natural gas pipeline The nation’s industry minister implies that the Trump ad...
Korean officials confirm no deal exists to invest in Alaska natural gas pipeline
The nation’s industry minister implies that the Trump administration lied in a White House news conference
President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the White House on Aug. 6, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Korea has not agreed to invest $54 billion in the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline — and has not even agreed to invest at all, its national industry minister, Kim Jung-kwan, told reporters in Seoul on Thursday.
His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump held a news conference in the White House to incorrectly proclaim that officials from the Asian nation had agreed to spend $54 billion from a $200 billion investment pledge on the pipeline project.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing next to Trump during the announcement, had said that Korea would invest more than $50 billion in the project, which is intended to carry natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope to a to-be-constructed export terminal south of Anchorage.
“This morning, I lodged a strong protest with Lutnick as the announcement went far beyond what was agreed,” Kim told reporters in remarks covered by the Korea Times, Wall Street Journal and other news outlets.
According to a fact sheet distributed by the U.S. Commerce Department, Korea and the United States have “agreed to commence working on the Alaska LNG project.”
The fact sheet says that Korean companies “TBD” will work on the issue, and “details will be finalized at a later date.”
The Korean government has characterized its agreement with the U.S. government as merely a starting point to determine whether the gas project is worthwhile.
In a post on social media, Korean President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged “difficulties” in negotiations with the United States and said, “the Alaska LNG project will proceed to working level under the preconditions that 1) its commercial viability is confirmed and 2) it complies with the legal procedures of the Republic of Korea.”
During Wednesday’s misleading announcement, Trump was accompanied by Rep. Nick Begich, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Sen. Dan Sullivan. All three are Republicans and close allies of the president.
Sullivan, whom Trump incorrectly called “governor” at one point during a Q&A session, is in a close race for re-election against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, who initially applauded the pipeline announcement.
Senate Majority PAC, a group backing Peltola, said that given the Korean reaction, Trump’s statement on Wednesday was “a massive lie Dan Sullivan echoed to score points with voters.”
COUNTRY JOURNAL:
On Thursday, October 1st, 2026 Senator Dan Sullivan still hadn't taken down this notice from his official government website. It was one day after he publicly appeared with President Donald Trump, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, and Alaska Representative Nick Begich to announce that South Korea was bailing out Alaska to the tune of over $50 billion for a pipeline. Meanwhile, in response to their claims, South Korea has repeatedly said in no uncertain terms that a deal has not been struck. The supposed agreement was part of a much larger package that was said by the President to include eight nuclear power plants in the United States. None of that was true, either.
