Arms agency, US Navy discuss cooperation on naval shipbuilding, MRO
A national security multi-mission vessel is under construction at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pa., U.S., July 16. Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean
The vice chief of Korea's arms procurement agency has met with a senior official of the U.S. Navy and discussed cooperation on the construction of American warships, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Friday.
DAPA Vice Commissioner Kang Hwan-seok and Jason Potter, assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy, discussed ways to enhance cooperation in shipbuilding and naval maintenance and repair and overhaul (MRO) during their talks in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
During the meeting, they shared the understanding about the need to revise the U.S. act on banning overseas construction of U.S. fleets, known as the Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment.
The Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment requires U.S. Navy fleets to be manufactured in U.S. shipyards. The officials agreed to establish a working-level group to further discuss cooperation on shipbuilding.
The meeting came as shipbuilding has emerged as a key sector in cooperation between Seoul and Washington during their recent tariff negotiations.
Korea proposed a large-scale cooperation project on shipbuilding, dubbed "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA), as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration seeks to rebuild its shipbuilding industry in the face of China's overwhelming capacity to construct vessels.