Page 194 - 2018 Defense White Paper

to Indonesia, the ROK Vice Minister of National Defense discussed major issues, including

the KFX–IFX and submarine projects, and agreed with Indonesian of f icials to expand and
enhance defense cooperation and defense industrial cooperation between the two countries.
With Australia and New Zealand—key nations of the Oceanian region and the ROK’s

long-standing partners—the ROK has been actively seeking the expansion and vitalization of
defense cooperation through senior military official exchanges including regular meetings of
consultative bodies.

The ROK and Australia convened a bilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting during the SDD
in September 2017. The Defense Ministers of the two countries mainly discussed the security
situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region as well as ways to vitalize defense industrial

rd
cooperation and defense cooperation. In October 2017, at the 3 ROK–Australia Foreign
Af fairs and Defense Ministerial Meeting, the Foreign Af fairs and Defense Ministers of the
two countries noted that their bilateral cooperation has further deepened and enhanced since
nd
the 2 meeting. During the defense ministerial talks that followed the meeting, the two sides
continued concrete discussions on defense cooperation. The Defense Ministers of the ROK
and Australia noted that the interoperability of the two countries had improved, thanks to their

navies’ substantive combined training and the identification of cooperation areas through the
defense ministerial talks held during the SDD as well as regular meetings of the consultative
bodies of each service of their armed forces.
The ROK and New Zealand held the Defense Ministerial Talks in October 2018 and the

th
th
15 and 16 defense policy talks in February 2017, and March 2018, respectively. During the
meeting, the two countries explored ways to enhance defense exchanges and cooperation,
including combined training, UN peacekeeping operations, defense industrial cooperation, and

cooperation, between each service of their armed forces. The two sides also concurred that
the international community’s faithful implementation of UN Security Council resolutions
through the evaluation of regional security dynamics, including the Korean Peninsula, is the

key to sanctions on North Korea.

| Southwest Asia | Southwest Asia is considered a strategic point that connects the Middle

East and Asia. The ROK has engaged in defense exchanges and cooperation with key countries in
Southwest Asia through senior military of f icial exchanges and regular meetings of consultative
bodies.

192 Chapter 5 Development of the ROK–U.S. Alliance, and Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation