SEOUL, Oct 26 (Reuters) - South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy

Industries and U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington

Ingalls have agreed to jointly build U.S. navy auxiliary

ships, the South Korean shipbuilder said on Sunday.

In a bid to advance cooperation in shipbuilding between the

two countries, HD Hyundai and Huntington Ingalls signed a

memorandum of agreement in Gyeongju, South Korea, where

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events will take place

throughout next week, HD Hyundai Heavy said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit Gyeongju in a

few days and hold summit talks with South Korean President Lee

Jae Myung.

Under the agreement, the two companies will explore joint

investments in building new shipyards or acquiring existing ship

construction facilities in the U.S., according to HD Hyundai

Heavy.

Helping Trump revive U.S. shipbuilding, South Korea has

pledged to invest $150 billion in the sector, as part of $350

billion of investment funds the Asian country agreed to put into

U.S. projects after winning U.S. tariff cuts in late July.

However, details of the broad tariff agreement between the

two countries haven't been hammered out yet. Trump has said it

was close to being finalised, while South Korean officials said

the two sides were still far apart on key issues.