Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Jin-ah met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Helberg in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. They discussed cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, follow-up measures for strategic investments in the U.S., and plans to stabilize the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Deputy Minister Kim visited the U.S. to attend the second Pax Silica Summit. During her visit, she met with Deputy Secretary Helberg to exchange views on the summit's main agenda and current economic cooperation issues between the two countries.

Regarding U.S.-Korea economic cooperation, Deputy Minister Kim outlined South Korea's efforts to implement the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Special Act and the recent establishment of the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation on June 18. She proposed ongoing discussions to advance cooperation in the shipbuilding sector through necessary institutional improvements.

This discussion is a continuation of the follow-up measures agreed upon during the Korea-U.S. summit last October. At that time, the two governments committed to 350 billion USD in strategic investments in the U.S., with 150 billion USD earmarked for the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

Both sides emphasized the importance of cooperation among trusted partners to stabilize supply chains in advanced industries, including AI and digital sectors. They agreed to continue discussions on strengthening capabilities in advanced manufacturing through initiatives like the Pax Silica Summit.

The Pax Silica Summit, launched in December last year under the U.S. State Department's leadership, is a coalition of 18 like-minded countries working to establish a comprehensive and stable AI supply chain.

The two sides plan to hold the 11th Korea-U.S. Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) in the latter half of this year. This meeting will continue discussions on supply chain and advanced technology cooperation from the Pax Silica Summit, as well as further develop their strategic economic partnership.

The Korea-U.S. Senior Economic Dialogue is a regular deputy minister-level consultation body between South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department, established as a follow-up to the 2015 Korea-U.S. summit.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Jin-ah met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Helberg i …

Korea and U.S. Strengthen Economic Ties: Insights from the Pax Silica Summit 2026