South Korea, US agree to push 'package' deal including LNG by early July

South Korea and the US agreed to push for a "package" deal on new US tariffs, coupled with economic and industrial cooperation that may include LNG by early July, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said April 25.

Under the agreement, the two nations will make joint efforts to conclude the package deal by July 8 when US President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs ends, through talks focusing on four categories such as tariff- and non-tariff measures; economic security; investment cooperation; and monetary policies, MOTIE officials said.

Trump paused country-specific reciprocal tariffs, including a 25% tariff on South Korea, for 90 days on April 9, less than a day after they went into effect, while leaving a broad 10% tariff in place.

Economy-Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and MOTIE Minister Ahn Duk-geun met their US counterparts for the "two-plus-two" trade consultations that took place at the Treasury Department for around 85 minutes.

At the end of the meeting, the MOTIE issued a press release, but the statement does not include any remarks on South Korea's participation in an LNG project in Alaska and purchase of more US LNG.

The MOTIE said the government is still considering various conditions for the project and LNG imports.

"We are in a situation where we have to review all considerations," a MOTIE official said. "It is not easy to determine the feasibility of the [Alaska LNG] project at this point," he said.

"We plan to carefully and meticulously review all possible factors to determine whether the project is feasible and how much to increase LNG imports from the US," he said.

US LNG

South Korea imported 5.636 million mt of LNG from the US in 2024, up 10.2% year over year and accounting for 12.2% of the country's total imports of 46.318 million mt, according to data from the Korea Customs Service.

The US is South Korea's fourth-largest LNG supplier, after Australia, Qatar and Malaysia.

In his speech to Congress on March 4, Trump said, "My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partners with investments of trillions of dollars each."

"It will be truly spectacular. It is all set to go," Trump added.

Ahn said March 20 that South Korea may increase LNG purchases from the US and review its push for the Alaska LNG project before deciding whether to join the project, as part of efforts to address Trump's trade and tariff pressures.

The 20-million-mt/year Alaska LNG project had struggled to gain traction for years amid the state's long-running challenges, including high project costs and difficulty securing customers. This led the state to shift its efforts toward turning the project over to private interests.

US-based Glenfarne, which signed a deal with the Alaskan government entity managing the proposed Alaska LNG export project, said on March 28 that it expects to reach a final investment decision in 2025 on a portion of an 800-mile pipeline that would connect Alaska North Slope supplies to the export terminal in Nikiski, located on the Kenai Peninsula in the southern part of the state.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, speaking in March at the CERAWeek energy conference by S&P Global Energy in Houston, said he expects the LNG project to start up within five years, with interest from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.