U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned South Korean companies on July 15 (local time) while emphasizing the need for shipbuilding cooperation to strengthen the U.S. Navy.

He also made remarks that can be interpreted as an intention to purchase ships from outside the United States.

Attention is focused on whether South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation will gain momentum, following President Trump's inquiry to President Lee Jae-myung during the G7 summit last month about whether South Korea could quickly build 10 warships.

President Trump attended the Defense Innovation Summit held at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania that day. While emphasizing the need to strengthen U.S. naval power, he said, "We will probably be looking at some companies coming from Korea and other places."

President Trump added, "They are working with us on ships," and further stated, "We will also be buying some ships that are made outside the region."

He continued, "We need a lot of ships for our Navy," adding, "Our ships are aging, and we had stepped away from it."

It is somewhat unclear whether President Trump's reference to "some ships that are made outside the region" specifically refers to ships built outside the United States.

However, given President Trump's remarks to President Lee at the G7 summit last month, asking if he could "quickly build 10 U.S. warships," there is speculation that the statement may have been made with the plan of building warships outside the U.S. in mind.

A high-ranking official from the South Korean presidential office also stated on July 9 regarding President Trump's request for military vessels, "We are getting the impression that (President Trump) is not ruling out building them in Korea for now."

The United States, under the Burns-Tollefson Act, generally prohibits the construction of naval vessels in foreign countries.

The South Korean government and the shipbuilding industry are hoping that President Trump will use his administrative authority to grant an exception allowing U.S. Navy vessels to be built in South Korea.

The two countries have already agreed to invest 150 billion dollars in shipbuilding cooperation out of a total 350 billion dollars in planned investments in the U.S.

The Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center is scheduled to open in Washington, D.C., on July 23.

Michael Coulter, CEO of Hanwha Defense USA, also attended the event where President Trump was present.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg were also in attendance.

In his speech that day, President Trump announced a 10 billion dollar new defense investment in Pennsylvania, emphasizing that it would create over 4,000 jobs.

President Trump added, "The workers of Pennsylvania will build the ships, submarines, trucks, weapons, and industries that keep America the most powerful nation in the history of the world."

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche responded to a question about his relationship with President Donald Trump at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on July 15 (local time) by saying, "I am his lawyer. No, I was his lawyer."

Although it was a slip of the tongue that he corrected immediately, there is a reason why this answer does not sound ordinary.

Blanche is a close aide who served as a defense attorney in several criminal cases involving President Trump.

This is also why President Trump dismissed Pam Bondi and nominated Blanche as Attorney General, citing insufficient progress in investigations into political opponents and the response to the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Blanche, who has served as Acting Attorney General since April, accelerated investigations into President Trump's political opponents and defended the President's plan to support his supporters by creating a 1.8 billion dollar fund for victims of judicial abuse.

He also took the lead in securing evidence to support President Trump's claim that the 2020 election loss was due to election fraud, sparking controversy over the Department of Justice's violation of political neutrality.

For this reason, the opposition Democratic Party launched an intensive offensive at the confirmation hearing that day, questioning whether Blanche could perform his duties impartially, transcending partisanship as Attorney General.

Senator Dick Durbin, the Democratic whip on the Judiciary Committee, harshly criticized him, calling Blanche a "yes-man."

Reported by JIN Sang-myeong | Video by Kim Hye-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News