South Korea has said a planned $10 billion advance payment for a US nuclear power project will only proceed after a full review of its business feasibility, the country's finance minister told parliament on Monday.

Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il told a parliamentary budget committee that the remittance plan remained at a preliminary stage and would be reviewed carefully before any money moved. The payment forms part of a wider investment package agreed between Seoul and Washington.

Industry Vice Minister Park Dong-il also told the committee that the government would closely review any potential investment in the Alaska LNG project, adding that no investment decision had yet been finalised.

The $10 billion advance payment is linked to Project Power, a US-South Korea framework announced on 30 September for eight large nuclear reactors at unspecified US sites, with $120 billion allocated to the programme. The mix covers six Westinghouse AP1000 units and two Korea-designed APR1400 units, with $100 billion for construction costs and $20 billion held in contingency reserves.

Under the framework, the two countries agreed to cooperate on transferring a $10 billion advance payment by the end of 2026, subject to applicable domestic legal requirements, primarily to support early purchases of long-lead items. No public project schedule or site list has yet been published, and individual projects are to be announced as sites, schedules and commercial terms are settled.

The framework also contemplates a potential significant minority equity investment in Westinghouse by Korean companies, whose identities and terms remain to be negotiated. The US Department of Commerce announced the agreement as part of a wider strategic investment arrangement between Washington and Seoul, with Westinghouse, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power among the signatories.