S. Korea, US sign 11 MoUs for cooperation in shipbuilding, nuclear energy, aviation

Seoul, Aug 26 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have signed 11 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for bilateral cooperation in a wide array of key industrial sectors ranging from shipbuilding, nuclear energy and aviation to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and critical minerals, Seoul's industry ministry said on Tuesday.

The MoUs were signed during a South Korea-U.S. business roundtable in Washington on Monday (local time) that followed President Lee Jae Myung's first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump there, reports Yonhap news agency.

The meeting was attended by 16 Korean business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and 21 American corporate chiefs, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

For shipbuilding cooperation, HD Hyundai Co. and the Korea Development Bank signed an initial agreement with U.S. investment firm Cerberus Capital to create a joint investment program, while Samsung Heavy Industries Co. signed an MOU with Vigor Marine Group to forge a partnership for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) projects for the U.S. Navy.

For collaboration in the nuclear energy sector, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and Doosan Enerbility Co. signed a quadrilateral MOU with X-energy and Amazon Web Services to jointly develop small modular reactors (SMRs).

Doosan Enerbility also signed a separate agreement with Fermi America to join hands for supplying materials for a large-scale nuclear power plant and SMRs to be built for an artificial intelligence (AI) campus project in Texas.

The KHNP and Samsung C&T Corp. also struck a trilateral agreement with Fermi America for the AI campus project.

The KHNP signed another MOU with American nuclear fuel supplier Centrus for joint investment in constructing a uranium enrichment facility.

For aviation cooperation, Korean Air agreed to purchase 103 next-generation aircraft from Boeing, with an estimated value of US$36.2 billion, and signed a $13.7 billion contract with GE Aerospace for engine purchases and maintenance services.

In the LNG and critical minerals sectors, the Korea Gas Corp. signed an agreement with Trafigura to annually buy 3.3 million tons of American LNG for 10 years, starting in 2028, while Korea Zinc Inc. reached a deal with Lockheed Martin for critical mineral supply chain cooperation, according to the ministry.

"The Korean government will provide all necessary institutional support to usher in a renaissance of Korea-U.S. manufacturing cooperation, and we will strive to create boundless business opportunities for companies of both nations," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said in a press release.

—IANS

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