New US envoy hails Korea's shipbuilding cooperation as expanding alliance into 'new' territory

WASHINGTON — New U.S.

Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel on Thursday hailed Korea's shipbuilding cooperation with the United States as an expansion of the bilateral alliance into a "new" and "important" territory, stressing that reinforcing the alliance is her "top priority." Steel made the remarks during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S.

Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) in Washington — a platform to facilitate the $150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector that Seoul has committed to as part of last year's bilateral trade and investment deal.

"What we have discussed today is proof that our alliance is expanding into a new, incredibly important territory: the vitalization of the American industry, including in shipbuilding," she said in her first major public remarks since her Senate confirmation last month.

She enumerated a set of shipbuilding cooperation endeavors, such as Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group's $5 billion infrastructure plan for a major shipyard in Philadelphia, Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai's multi-billion-dollar investment fund ...