South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced Wednesday that its chief, Seok Jong-gun, held a series of high-level meetings in Washington earlier this week to strengthen bilateral defense industry ties. Seok met with senior officials from the U.S. Department of the Navy and Department of Defense to discuss ways to expand cooperation in naval vessel maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and explore longer-term collaboration on shipbuilding. He also urged the U.S. to ease legal restrictions that currently bar foreign construction of U.S. naval vessels.

Seok’s delegation emphasized South Korea’s track record in MRO services and the efficiency of its shipyards, citing past projects with the U.S. Navy as proof of capability. Talks also explored expanding joint MRO cooperation to include aircraft and ground vehicle platforms. Seok additionally met with South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S. and representatives from ROK defense firms to assess market access barriers and gather feedback on how Seoul can support their export efforts.