President Lee Jae Myung listens to defense minister Ahn Gyu-back's briefing on the ministry's plan on developing nuclear-powered submarines at a comittee meeting held in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, May 26. Joint Press Corps
WASHINGTON — A Senate committee has expressed support for South Korea-U.S. cooperation on submarine manufacturing and directed the Pentagon to provide security and other assessments of Seoul's efforts to secure nuclear-powered submarines, a congressional report showed Thursday.
In a report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, the Senate Armed Services Committee mentioned the two countries' cooperation over Seoul's push to secure conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, pointing to its potentially "positive" security implications.
The allies have been cooperating on Seoul's submarine project, as Washington expressed support for it in a joint fact sheet released in November following a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump the previous month.
"The committee supports bilateral cooperation on submarine manufacturing with South Korea and acknowledges the potential positive implications for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region," the committee said in the report.
