US House Appropriations subcommittee officials visited Korean shipyards in July: sources

Hanwha Ocean's shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province / Korea Times photo by Kim Hyeong-joon

Officials from a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee visited shipyards in Korea operated by two major shipbuilders earlier this month to inspect their capabilities to build warships, sources said Thursday.

Eight officials from the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense toured the shipyard of Hanwha Ocean in Geoje, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 11, industry and government sources familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency.

The same group visited the main shipyard run by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in the southeastern city of Ulsan a day earlier, according to the sources.

At the Hanwha plant, the officials were briefed on and observed firsthand the 3,600-ton Ulsan-class Chungnam frigate and the 3,600-ton Jang Bogo submarine.

While touring HD Hyundai's plant, they inspected the 8,200-ton Aegis-equipped Daeho Kim Jong Seo destroyer and an offshore patrol vessel set to be supplied to the Philippine Navy.

The officials reportedly expressed interest in gaining a detailed understanding of each company's shipbuilding capabilities and their plan to invest in the United States.

The latest visit may indicate that the U.S. Congress is stepping up to explore ways for President Donald Trump's administration to expand shipbuilding cooperation with Korea, an agreement reached between the allies' leaders after their summit in October last year.

However, the U.S. Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment banning foreign construction of its military vessels has been cited as a main obstacle hindering the implementation of the summit agreement.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee, which controls the federal budget spending, passed a revised Defense Appropriation bill for the fiscal year 2027 last month.

It changed the language in the bill's provisions to narrow the scope of the ban on foreign construction of vessels or manufacturing of related components strictly to "covered ships," or those categorized as combat ships. In the previous bills, the ban had always applied to "any vessels."

The change in wording suggests congressional efforts to help facilitate shipbuilding cooperation with Korea, possibly opening the door for constructing such vessels outside the U.S., experts said.

The subcommittee official's visit also came after the U.S. Department of War and the U.S. Navy sent a request for information (RFI) to Korean shipbuilders on their combat vessels and replenishment ships.

An RFI is a formal process in arms procurement through which a potential buyer gathers information about the supplier's capabilities, cost estimates and other terms.