Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Two sides hold director-level cooperation meeting in Washington D.C.

Agreed to share intelligence about space domain, nurture space experts, and enhance operational capabilities, with the aim of strengthening the capabilities of the alliance in the area of space security

Also shared newest defense and space policies

In light of the growing role and significance of space power in the future of war, the defense ministries of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States (US) reached their first agreement on ‘ROK-US joint space policy research,’ an official document for the development of space policies in terms of the ROK-US alliance.

In a statement released on April 26, the ministry said “On April 25 (local time), the defense ministries of the two countries held the 18th ROK-US director-level space cooperation working group (SCWG) in Washington DC.”

This meeting was attended by Cho Yong-geun, the ROK defense ministry’s director of North Korea policy, and John D. Hill, the US defense ministry’s deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, as representatives for their respective sides.

The ｢ROK-US joint space policy research｣ is the first official document between the defense ministries of the two countries to put forward a direction for the allies’ space security policies. It includes a series of projects aimed at strengthening the allies’ capacity to counter growing space security threats.

In line with the intent of the document, the two sides agreed to continue to pursue defense and space cooperation in terms of sharing intelligence for a common understanding of the space domain, nurturing space experts through training and exercises, and enhancing interoperability for combined space operations, with the aim of achieving the strategic value of space cooperation and strengthening joint space capabilities.

“At the 14th SCWG session in February 2020, the ROK first proposed the ｢ROK-US joint space policy research｣. For about two years since then, the two sides have worked on it in various ways, and eventually signed it at the 18th SCWG,” an official from the ministry explained.

The two sides plan to closely monitor the progress of the ｢ROK-US joint space policy research｣ and actively push ahead with it, in order to embody it as a practical policy by holding the SCWG on a regular basis.

At the SCWG, the two sides also updated each other on domestic defense and space policies, and had an in-depth discussion on sharing intelligence in the space domain.

Since the signing of their first SCWG agreement at the 10th ROK-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in October 2012, the two countries have held eighteen meetings.

The ROK and the US have been putting a great deal of effort into improving the allies’ space operational capabilities since the two ministers expressed their shared vision of closely strengthening bilateral cooperation in the area of high technology, such as space, at the SCM held last December.

“The two sides both expressed their substantial appreciation for the continued space cooperation between the defense authorities, including this signing of the ROK-US joint space policy research. The defense ministries of the two countries will further strengthen space cooperation based on a firm ROK-US alliance,” a ministry spokesperson commented.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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