By Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States have agreed to establish a working-level group to discuss a gas pipeline project in Alaska, energy, shipbuilding, tariffs and non-tariff barriers, South Korea’s Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said on Tuesday.
The United States has asked South Korea and other countries if they are interested in participating in an Alaskan LNG project, Ahn told reporters in Sejong.
He added that the two sides will discuss potential cooperation in energy.
“South Korea has a high dependence on the Middle East for energy suppliers, making diversifying import sources a key part of energy security,” he said.
His comments come after he travelled to Washington last month seeking exemptions from Trump administration tariffs that are expected to hit South Korea’s export-reliant economy hard.
During the trip Ahn indicated South Korean interest in joining the $44 billion Alaska gas project in partnership with the U.S. and Japan, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Ahn met with senior U.S. officials including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of the Interior as well as co-chair of the White House National Energy Dominance Council Doug Burgum.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Burgum said the 800-mile LNG gas pipeline would allow the United States to sell energy to its allies and “raise money for the US Treasury”.
South Korea is the world’s third-largest importer of liquefied natural gas, behind China and Japan.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Ed Davies and Edwina Gibbs)
