▲ President Donald Trump arrives at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania during the Defense and Innovation Summit on July 15, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration will "probably" look at South Korean and other companies for shipbuilding cooperation as part of efforts to reinforce the United States Navy.

Trump made the remarks during an event, called the Defense and Innovation Summit, at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, as the U.S. seeks to expand cooperation with South Korea in revitalizing its shipbuilding sector.

"We have to build our Navy ... We got to get it going. So, we're going to probably look at some of these companies that are coming in from South Korea and other places, and they're working with us on ships," he said at the event.

"We're going to also build. We're going to also buy some ships that are made outside of the area ... We need a lot of ships for our Navy despite the fact we have the greatest navy in the world. But our ships are getting older, and we really got out of that business," he added.

It remains unclear what he meant by ships that are "made outside of the area."

Earlier this month, a South Korean presidential official told reporters that Trump does not appear to rule out the possibility of U.S. naval vessels being built in South Korea.

Trump reportedly discussed shipbuilding cooperation with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during their encounter at the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, last month.

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