U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to greenlight a South Korean nuclear-powered submarine has paved the way for Seoul to finally develop a prestige asset it has long sought, but also laid the foundation for a new naval arms race with North Korea.

In the past, Washington consistently opposed the ROK’s acquisition of these capabilities. Nuclear-powered submarines are exorbitantly expensive, and there have been doubts about whether the South really needs them for operations to counter the coastal-bound DPRK navy near the peninsula.

But in the face of a rising China, the U