Trump open to Korea-built U.S. warships: Presidential official

U.S. President Donald Trump does not appear to rule out the possibility of having U.S. military ships he asked Korea to build constructed in the Northeast Asian country, a presidential official said Thursday.

The official made the remarks at a press conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he was accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on a three-day state visit, in response to a reporter's question about Trump's recent request that Korea build military vessels.

Trump made the request to Lee during their encounter at the recent Group of 7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, last month. The issue came up again when the two leaders met again at a dinner of the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this week.

"I have the impression that [Trump] does not rule out the possibility of having [them] built in Korea," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official, however, said it remains unclear exactly how Trump wants the ships to be built, adding that working-level discussions would be needed to flesh out the details.

Yonhap