WASHINGTON — Korea and the United States on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department said, as Seoul has committed to help revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding sector as part of a bilateral trade agreement. Park Jung-sung, deputy minister for trade at Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR), and U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade William Kimmitt inked the MOU in Washington, overseen by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to the International Trade Administration. The MOU signing came as Korea has pledged to invest $150 billion in the U.S. shipbuilding sector as part of last year’s trade deal that committed the Asian country to investing a total of $350 billion in the U.S. with an annual cap of $20 billion. “The MOU signing builds on ongoing U.S.-Korea cooperation in strategic industries and reflects continued efforts to strengthen allied industrial capacity, promote investment, and expand collaboration in adva
