Industry sources indicated on Wednesday that the United States has requested major South Korean shipbuilders to supply information regarding their capacity for constructing naval vessels, such as destroyers and fleet replenishment ships.

Informed sources stated that the US Department of Defense and the US Navy recently sent Requests for Information (RFI) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean. The two companies reportedly submitted detailed materials last month concerning their destroyer design capabilities and shipbuilding capacity.

According to the sources, the same two shipbuilders, along with Samsung Heavy Industries, also provided responses to a separate RFI concerning medium-sized naval oil replenishment vessels.

An industry official who requested anonymity commented, "We have responded to the US RFI, providing a comprehensive overview of our shipyard's overall capabilities. This includes our track record in ship construction, the expertise of our design and R&D teams, our technical reserves, and annual shipbuilding capacity."

Under the US Federal Acquisition Regulation, a Request for Information (RFI) is a procedure used by the government to collect data for planning purposes, including pricing, delivery terms, and other market information.

This latest development follows US President Donald Trump's inquiry last month to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the G7 summit, asking if South Korean shipyards could rapidly build ten US Navy ships. President Lee responded at the time that South Korean shipyards possess the capability to achieve this goal and would exert their utmost effort to fulfill the task.