Page 195 - 2018 Defense White Paper

The ROK–India relationship was elevated to a “special strategic partnership” during the

Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the ROK in May 2015. At the Defense Ministerial Meeting
in June 2017, the two countries discussed ways to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation
including coordinating responses toward North Korea as well as vitalizing military education

exchanges and defense industrial cooperation. The two countries also decided to hold meetings
between their foreign af fairs and defense vice ministers in the near future, which they had agreed
to organize in 2015.

In October 2017, during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (Seoul
ADEX), the ROK Minister of National Defense met with the Sri Lankan State Minister of
Defense and the Indian Defense R&D Secretary. The ROK Minister of National Defense and

the Sri Lankan State Minister of Defense discussed the importance of coordination for sanctions
on North Korea and ways to develop defense industrial cooperation in a forward-looking
manner. In a separate meeting with the Indian Defense R&D Secretary, the ROK Minister of
National Defense had concrete discussions on ways to expand the mutually reinforcing bilateral

defense industrial cooperation based on their “special strategic partnership.”
In August 2018, the ROK Minister of National Defense undertook an official visit to India and

held a bilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting to follow up on the ROK–India summit held in July.
To continuously enhance the level of defense cooperation and defense industrial cooperation, Chapter 5
the Defense Ministers of the two countries decided to hold meetings of their Foreign Affairs
and Defense Vice Ministers as well as meetings of the consultative bodies of each service of

their armed forces. Both sides also committed to further develop military education exchange,
cooperation on peacekeeping operations, defense technology cooperation, and joint research
and development.

The ROK will proactively seek ways to expand defense cooperation and defense industrial
cooperation with countries in Southwest Asia through continuous senior military of f icial
exchanges and regular meetings of consultative bodies.

| Central Asia | Central Asia is the key region of Eurasia that connects Asia, Europe,
and Afr ica, and that consists of key countries in the central area of the ROK government’s

New Northern Policy. It is also a highly geopolitically valuable region that China’s One Belt,
One Road, passes through and that is linked with Russia’s New East Policy. Five Central
Asian countries formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) after achieving their

Section 3 Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation 193