US Links Shipbuilding Deal With South Korean Support of China Containment Policy: Seoul Official

Shipbuilding collaboration is a key topic being discussed in trade negotiations to address Seoul’s trade surplus and the threat of communist China.

The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan seen during a U.S.-South Korea combined naval exercise in East Sea, South Korea, on Sept. 29, 2022. South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images

The United States is requiring South Korea to support its strategy of containing communist China as a condition for bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, a South Korean official said on July 11.

Speaking at a parliamentary forum on tariff negotiation strategy, Chang Sung-gil, director general for Trade Policy at South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said the Trump administration has made its expectations clear.