US, South Korea Eye Joint Pact to Build Submarines for Both (1)

The US and South Korea are in private negotiations to jointly build nuclear-powered submarines for both navies, a potential major shift in their alliance that would go beyond the announcement made by the countries’ presidents two weeks ago, people familiar with the matter say.

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met in South Korea in late October and announced a pact to enable South Korea to build its own nuclear-powered submarines, with Trump saying they’d be built in Philadelphia. Since then, behind the scenes, a more sprawling vision has taken shape, the people said.

A joint ...