South Korea’s top officials visited the White House to discuss bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, a key component of Seoul’s 350 billion investment pledge in the United States.

On Thursday, Kim Yong-beom, the office's director of national policy, and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, at the White House.

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo also joined the meeting, which lasted for about 50 minutes.

Following the meeting, the industry minister described the talks as “constructive,” covering various aspects of the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” or MASGA project, a South Korean initiative aimed at revitalizing the U.S. shipbuilding sector, as part of the trade deal reached in July.

Ahead of the meeting, the presidential official told reporters that the Office of Management and Budget plays a crucial role in U.S. shipbuilding projects and that the visit was an effort to exchange views on shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

Kim is expected to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to continue negotiations.