Defense - Korea: Naval catalysts in town

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Defense - Korea: Naval catalysts in town

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Defense - Korea

Naval catalysts in town

Industry Overview

Korea-US bilateral working group setup in focus 20 May 2026

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Department of State issued a press release Equity

that Allison Hooker, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, plans to visit Republic Of Korea

South Korea to launch a bilateral working group associated with former defense agenda Defense

discussed at 2025 APEC summit. The ‘Joint Fact Sheet’ from Nov’25 included topics of

South Korea’s shipbuilding alliance, nuclear-powered submarine newbuild opportunities, KJResearchHwangAnalyst>>

wider authority for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment etc. Merrill Lynch (Seoul)

+82 2 3707 0460

Korea in pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines kj.hwang@bofa.com Dongho Shin >>

Korean Navy also launched a formal procedure to develop nuclear-powered submarines Research Analyst

via submitting ‘requirement institution documents’ to Joint Chief of Staff (JCS). While Merrilldongho.shin@bofa.comLynch (Seoul)

details are subject to JCS briefing by end-May’26, we believe 5,000t design is under

review with longer term plans to apply zero-emission nuclear propulsion systems to

commercial shipbuilding. We see this strategic move as part of 2026 US NDS that urges Acronyms

US allies to design and manufacture critical defense systems in domestic market, while APEC: Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

remaining interoperable within alliance frameworks.

NDS: National Defense Strategy

Opportunities under fiscal 2027 shipbuilding plan

Meanwhile, Korea’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs visited US this week, seeking high-