{"text":[[{"start":10.955,"text":"The US and South Korea are set to unveil an agreement for Seoul to fund a multibillion-dollar gas-fired power plant in Texas, the first project under its $350bn investment deal with the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter in Washington and Seoul."}],[{"start":27.52,"text":"The White House was expected to announce the project as soon as Wednesday, the people said. President Donald Trump may unveil the deal himself, depending on preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in Washington, they added."}],[{"start":41.32,"text":"South Korea this week chose the proposed $22.3bn gas-fired power complex in Encinal, Texas, which is intended to meet surging power demand from the state’s data centres and chip fabrication plants. The deal will remain subject to final US approval."}],[{"start":58.04,"text":"Trump and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung, who is in the US to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, met for 30 minutes in Washington on Tuesday. The sides welcomed “huge progress” on investments and co-operation across the Korea-US economic and security relationship, according to a South Korean readout."}],[{"start":76.44,"text":"South Korea last year committed to investing $350bn in the US in exchange for lower tariffs, but it had yet to identify any projects, fuelling frustration in Washington. Lee last week said he had been suffering “sleepless nights” over negotiations to finalise the first project."}],[{"start":94.12,"text":"Japan agreed to invest $550bn under a similar deal and has announced projects including a $33bn gas-fired power plant in Ohio and up to $40bn of small modular nuclear reactors in Tennessee and Alabama."}],[{"start":109.24,"text":"Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported this month that the proposed 6.3-gigawatt development would be built in stages, with an initial 1.4GW of gas-turbine capacity followed by about 4.9GW of more efficient combined-cycle generation. No customers for the project have yet been confirmed."}],[{"start":125.72,"text":"Under the November 2025 agreement, Seoul will supply $200bn in upfront capital for projects in strategic industries, with outlay capped at $20bn a year. Cash flow from the projects will be split equally with Washington until Korea’s principal and interest are covered. Korea’s share will then fall to just 10 per cent, with the US taking 90 per cent."}],[{"start":150.24,"text":"South Korea will also provide an additional $150bn for shipbuilding."}],[{"start":155.92,"text":"Korean officials told the National Assembly on Tuesday that the Encinal project could generate revenue of $43bn-45bn over 20 years, enough to recover the its principal and interest."}],[{"start":167.92,"text":"Seoul has repeatedly insisted that any investments must be “commercially reasonable”."}],[{"start":173.68,"text":"But Haeyoon Kim of Korea Tech and Trade Watch said the safeguard was weaker than it appeared. Under the 2025 agreement, “it’s ultimately the US-led Investment Committee that decides what counts as ‘commercially reasonable’”, she said."}],[{"start":187.96,"text":"Trump would make the final decision on which projects proceed, Kim added. Although Seoul could object, “doing so could trigger higher tariffs, so in reality, that’s not an easy option”, she said. “Security ties with Washington make it even harder to assess these investments on commercial merit alone.”"}],[{"start":208.16,"text":"The deal comes amid mounting pressures in the US-Korea relationship. Trump has pressed Seoul for assistance in the war against Iran, though Lee has ruled out deploying forces in a combat role."}],[{"start":219.36,"text":"South Korea, meanwhile, wants US support in building nuclear-powered submarines. Washington agreed last year to co-operate on technical requirements and fuel, but there has been almost no progress, according to people familiar with the situation."}],[{"start":233.72,"text":"One South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US counterparts had indicated that further progress could only be expected after Seoul announced some of its promised investments."}],[{"start":249.32,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790150703_3528.mp3"}