Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met with a U.S. Senate delegation Thursday at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, and asked U.S. lawmakers to support South Korea’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines.
Ahn expressed gratitude for the senators’ steady backing and urged continued bipartisan attention and cooperation from Congress so the U.S.–South Korea alliance can advance in a forward-looking, mutually beneficial direction.
He highlighted that reciprocal cooperation in shipbuilding and in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for Korea’s nuclear‑powered submarine program could play a central role in rebuilding U.S. shipbuilding capacity and strengthening allied maritime power.
The delegation included Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Jacky Rosen from the Democratic Party, and Senators Thom Tillis and John Curtis from the Republican Party.
The lawmakers said the visit was a major security field trip in the Indo‑Pacific and pledged to continue bipartisan support to strengthen the U.S.–South Korea alliance, which they described as one of the world’s most successful alliances over the past 70 years.
U.S. support for acquiring and building nuclear‑powered submarines was discussed at the Korea‑U.S. summit in October and was included in the leaders’ joint fact sheet. The South Korean government has established an interagency task force including the foreign and defense ministries and is consulting with the U.S. on issues such as nuclear fuel supply.