South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech at a military base in Gyeyong, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korea officials said this week that the country has not committed to investing in the Alaska LNG project, shortly after President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the country was backing the project with $54 billion.

They said the project still awaits a review process by the South Korean government.

Trump made the announcement flanked by members of his cabinet and while heaping praise on U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich, fellow Republicans who were also in attendance and face serious challengers in next month’s general election.

The investment, Trump said, is part of a huge agreement between his administration and South Korea intended to reduce the tariffs he imposed on the country.

The Alaska incumbents praised the “$54 billion investment” in a statement and — along with Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Brendan Duval, CEO of the project’s lead developer Glenfarne — made it sound like South Korea’s participation was a done deal.

In fact, there is not currently an investment, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on social media.

The Alaska LNG project has not yet met “preconditions” that would confirm the project’s “commercial viability,” he said. It must also be found in compliance with South Korea’s “legal procedures,” he said.

South Korea Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said separately that Trump’s announcement went “far beyond what was agreed,” according to The Korea Times and The Wall Street Journal.

The country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources also said the project faces a review process under a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and South Korea, and added that “nothing has been decided regarding whether to invest or the size of any investment,” The Korea Times reported.

Sullivan, Begich and Dunleavy on Thursday responded to the pushback from South Korea, saying they expect the country to ultimately invest.

Trump on Friday shot back at South Korea when a reporter asked if he had jumped the gun with his announcement, given that South Korea says it has not signed off on the Alaska gas line project.

Trump said he hasn’t jumped the gun, but also indicated that a deal wasn’t finalized.

If South Korea doesn’t sign, he’ll charge the country more, apparently in tariffs, he said.

“Tell them if they don’t sign shortly, I’m gonna double it up,” he said, an apparent reference to his 15% tariff on the country.

Pipeline observers say nothing has changed

The lack of commercial viability has long been the downfall for numerous similar projects that have preceded Alaska LNG for decades.

Alaska politicians and businesses have long pursued projects to tap into vast quantities of the state’s North Slope natural gas, send it down the state by pipeline, then ship it to markets in Asia or elsewhere.

But project after project has failed, raising questions about whether this time will be any different.

Larry Persily, a former Alaska gas line coordinator under President Barack Obama for an earlier iteration of the project, said Trump’s event was nothing but a political stunt to help Sullivan; who faces Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. House lawmaker; Begich, who faces independent candidate Bill Hill; and Dunleavy, whose legacy is on the line as he steps down in December after meeting his two-term limit.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House alongside Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Republican Rep. Nick Begich, Sen. Dan Sullivan and other officials, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The U.S. races are among the most fought over in the nation, as Democrats move to regain control of the House and Senate.

“This was a made-for-TV political campaign event,” Persily said. “The South Korean officials went as far as they could without calling it bullshit and trying to be polite, but, ‘Sorry, we’re not there with you on this one.’”

“The project economics still aren’t good,” Persily said. “And I saw no one from any South Korean company at the event. If they’re really writing a $54 billion check, don’t you think they’d be part of the announcement? It was a contrived event and everyone went along with it.”

The Alaska LNG project, estimated by Glenfarne to cost up to $54.5 billion, has been described as a gigaproject containing three megaprojects.

It would require construction of an 800-mile pipeline down the center of the state, a gas treatment plant on the North Slope, and a gas liquefaction plant and terminal in Southcentral Alaska to allow the shipments overseas.

Trump’s announcement doesn’t seem to change anything about the project, said Brad Keithley, a longtime industry observer and former oil and gas attorney.

“It takes two to make a deal and we won’t know whether the president’s announcement is significant until South Korea decides to make the investment,” Keithley said.

“Until then, it just reflects the president’s hope, which, frankly, we have known all along,” Keithley said. “This doesn’t add anything more to that.”

Brett Watson, an associate professor of applied and natural resource economics with the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said the announcement by Trump left many questions unanswered, including the timing and terms of any potential investment.

“I think that this is the type of announcement that we’d like to see to advance the project, but without more information about exactly what arrangements have been made,” Watson said his assessment about Alaska LNG’s prospects aren’t changing much.

“It just seems like there’s a lot of uncertainty still,” he said.

Alaska politicians clarify their views

Following South Korea’s statements, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Thursday that he has faith in Trump’s announcement.

“The president of the United States of America says that they will be investing in the pipeline,“ Dunleavy said. ”There’s no doubt that Korea will be making massive investments into American energy infrastructure. Every deal has terms and conditions, but when President Trump says that they are making this investment, I believe him. America holds the cards.”

Begich’s office on Thursday said South Korea will ultimately find the project commercially viable.

“Congressman Begich believes that Korea will invest in the project because the relatively low cost of capital from this program stemming from sovereign sources and a preferential investment return combined with substantial long-term cash flows creates an exceptionally low floor for achieving commercial viability,” his office said in a statement from spokesperson Silver Prout. “The remainder of this transaction will be driven by those fundamental mechanics.”

Amanda Coyne, a spokesperson for Sullivan, said Thursday that it’s no surprise that the details for such a large project are still getting “hashed out.”

Congressman Nick Begich and Sen. Dan Sullivan waved signs while campaigning in Anchorage on Tuesday morning, Aug. 18, 2026, during primary Election Day. (Bill Roth / ADN)

“The South Korean legislature approved a $350 billion investment deal with the US — $150 billion for ships, and $200 billion for strategic projects,” she said. “According to a joint US/Korea fact sheet, a statement from the President of South Korea, and consistent with the White House announcement yesterday, three projects have been agreed upon. The Alaska LNG project is one of those three.”

“What we’re seeing is part of the negotiation,” she said. “Bottom line: this is going to get built.”

The joint fact sheet, provided by the U.S. Commerce Department, says South Korea and the U.S. have “a plan to work together on the Alaska LNG project.”

The fact sheet does not show how much Korea might invest if the project meets the legal and commercial requirements. It does not even show the estimated cost of the Alaska LNG project.

“The United States and Korea have agreed to commence working on the Alaska LNG project, subject to meeting commercial reasonableness under the Strategic Investment MOU and all applicable domestic legal requirements,” the fact sheet says.

“In developing the project, the United States will facilitate the favorable involvement of Korean vendors and suppliers,” the fact sheet says.

“The United States intends to provide assurances, to the extent possible, regarding (gas) offtake agreements at economically viable prices granting Korea priority access to Alaska LNG produced by this project,” it says.

The Senate Majority PAC that is trying to flip the Senate majority to Democrats called Trump’s announcement a sham.

“This is a massive lie Dan Sullivan echoed to score points with voters,” said Christyna Thompson, the group’s press secretary. “Sullivan stood in the Oval Office and sold Alaskans a $50 billion pipeline that South Korea says it never agreed to pay for. Alaskans have waited decades for this project. They deserve a senator who tells them the truth, not one who stages a fake deal right before Election Day to save his own job.”

Gas line developers say more work is needed

The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the minority partner to Glenfarne with 25% of the project, seemed to issue a relatively careful statement after the president’s announcement.

The state agency used the word “potential” to describe the possible funding from Korea, and noted that work needs to be done.

“As we evaluate this opportunity with the Trump administration and Glenfarne, AGDC remains focused on safeguarding the state’s interests,” said Frank Richards, president of the gas line corporation.

Frank Richards, president of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., back left; Matt Kissinger, commercial director of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., center; and Adam Prestidge, Glenfarne Alaska LNG president, at center right, give a presentation to conference committee members, including Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, front left, and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, front right, during the second special session on an Alaska LNG tax break bill at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau on Friday, June 26, 2026. (Mari Kanagy  /  ADN)

Brendan Duval, with Glenfarne, who appeared at Trump’s event, said in a statement Wednesday that the announcement “brings together the capital needed to accelerate Alaska LNG to a final investment decision and construction.”

Glenfarne also said in the statement that it would “work with the U.S. and Korean governments to finalize the investment structure.”

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Glenfarne said in an email that the company looks forward “to sitting down with Republic of Korea representatives to work through current project details.”

Next steps include conducting due diligence, working through the investment structure and commercial terms together, and determining how to move efficiently toward an agreement, the company said.