US doubtful it could help S. Korea

The United States is unlikely to help South Korea build nuclear-powered submarines at the moment, as it is stretched by AUKUS commitments to Australia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore.
In 2021 the United States signed the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia to share nuclear-powered submarine technology and to sell at least three Virginia-class boats to Australia in the 2030s.
Several other allies, including South Korea, have expressed interest in involvement.
Asked on Saturday at the security summit how he would respond to a direct South Korean request for help obtaining nuclear submarines, Austin said it would be “very, very difficult” for Washington to accommodate that “on top of what we do right now”.
The two-stage security pact aims to counteract China’s growing power in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be the first time Washington has shared nuclear-propulsion technology since it did so with Britain in the 1950s.