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Korea, U.S. agree to advance pan-gov't shipbuilding cooperation with NSCs taking central role

Published: 26 Apr. 2025, 10:00

Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo, right, and his U.S. counterpart, Alex Wong, pose for a photo at the White House in Washington on April 25. [NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL/YONHAP]

Senior security officials of Korea and the United States agreed Friday to advance pan-government cooperation in the shipbuilding sector with the two countries' National Security Councils (NSCs) at the center of the efforts, Seoul's NSC said.

Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and his U.S. counterpart, Alex Wong, reached the agreement during their talks in Washington, where the two sides also agreed to prepare thoroughly against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and further solidify the allies' combined defense posture, according to the NSC.

"The two sides stressed the importance of cooperation in the shipbuilding area so as to strengthen defense industry cooperation and maritime security," the NSC said in a press release.

"To that end, the two sides agreed to advance pan-government cooperation by putting the two countries' NSCs at the center of the endeavors," it added.

The two sides also agreed to explore ways for cooperation to ensure that the capabilities of the Korean military and the U.S. Forces Korea can achieve "greater synergistic" effects, the NSC said.

The talks were a follow-up to a call between South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, as well as the consultations that National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik had with U.S. officials last month.

Yonhap