Home > National > Diplomacy

Security adviser says Trump is interested in Korean shipbuilding industry, may demand more in defense spending

Published: 27 Jun. 2025, 01:47 Updated: 27 Jun. 2025, 12:16

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, left, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the margins of the NATO summit in the Netherlands on June 24. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Thursday that he met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague and confirmed the leader is very interested in cooperation with Korea in the shipbuilding industry.

"I had a brief conversation with President Trump and confirmed, once again, that he is very interested in cooperation in the shipbuilding sector," Wi said in a press briefing in Seoul after returning from a trip to the Netherlands.

Seoul also faces calls from Washington to increase defense spending in line with rates demanded of the NATO countries, he added, a topic which came up in talks with the top U.S. diplomat.

In the latest summit, aligning with Trump's demands, NATO countries agreed to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of their GDP by 2035, and Wi said there was a "similar call" on Korea to do so as well.

Wi attended the NATO summit earlier this week in The Hague in lieu of President Lee Jae Myung, who chose to skip the meeting to focus on domestic affairs and the economy, and met briefly with President Trump at a welcome dinner hosted by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Wi met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who doubles as White House national security adviser, and shared a consensus that a Korea-U.S. summit should take place at an early date.

"The timing has not been set yet, but there was a consensus that we should swiftly push for it," Wi said, which can be "considered an achievement."

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, back row left, poses for a photo with world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of a dinner hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima on the sidelines of a NATO Summit at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24. [REUTERS/YONHAP'

Wi said they also discussed tariff negotiations, as the suspension of reciprocal tariffs expires on July 8, albeit "not in detail" as "there was no opportunity to do so."

He said that he "hopes that tariff negotiations will make progress quickly so that we can discuss security issues and achieve synergy."

Such negotiations need to be "conducted in a way that strengthens trust and solidarity in the Korea-U.S. alliance," Wi added.

While there were "no specific discussions," Wi said there was talk about "finding common ground with flexibility between the two negotiation tracks and preparing for the summit."

On whether Rubio might visit Seoul before or after the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia in early July, Wi noted there is a "possibility that U.S. officials may visit Korea soon on the occasion of the ARF."

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]