South Korea’s potential participation in part of the AUKUS security partnership was among the agenda items it discussed with Australia during a “two plus two” meeting among their foreign and defense chiefs Wednesday, the Korean defense minister said.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the remark during a joint press conference, noting that his country’s possible participation in the minilateral security partnership, comprising Australia, Britain and the United States, will contribute to regional peace and stability.
“During today’s meeting, we discussed the possibility of partnering with the AUKUS Pillar 2,” Shin said through an interpreter in response to a reporters’ question at the livestreamed joint press conference held after the ministers’ talks in Melbourne.
“We do welcome that the (AUKUS) members are considering Korea as a Pillar 2 partner. Korea’s defense science and technology capabilities will contribute to the peace and stability of the development of the AUKUS Pillar 2 and regional peace,” Shi
n said.
The AUKUS partnership, launched in September 2021, has drawn attention in Korea after a U.S. official in March mentioned South Korea and Japan as potential partners under consideration by AUKUS members to cooperate in high-tech areas, known as the Pillar 2, which covers quantum computing, artificial intelligence and hypersonics.
Whether the topic would be discussed at Wednesday’s two plus two meeting had been a focus of attention.
AUKUS is largely seen as a group of like-minded countries formed to counter China’s assertiveness.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles also echoed the point, describing Korea as a values-sharing country with which his country has strategic alignment.
“As AUKUS Pillar 2 develops, I think there will be opportunities in the future,” Marles said.
A joint statement between the two sides said they recognized AUKUS’ contribution to support security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
“The ROK welcomed that the AUKUS countries are considering cooperati
on with additional partners on Pillar ll advanced capability projects,” it read, using the acronym of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
The two sides also welcomed what they called the Quad’s “positive and practical” agenda to support the priorities and needs of regional countries, with Cho and Shin expressing interest in the U.S.-led security group also made up of Australia, India and Japan, according to the statement.
South Korea and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to further developing the bilateral future-oriented relationship, including enhancing the joint military training, Shin said, citing the mutual participation in last year’s multilateral Talisman Sabre exercise and Korea’s Freedom Shield exercises.
“We are committed to continuing these joint exercises in various forms and further elevating the level of cooperation between our armed forces,” he said.
The two countries discussed a range of issues of common interest across the board, from expanding cooperation in the Indo-
Pacific to the defense industry and efforts to sternly address North Korea’s evolving military threats, the ministers said.
“We agreed to collaborate in blocking North Korea’s access to funding for its illicit nuclear and missile development and to thwart illegal activities, such as arms trading between Russia and North Korea,” Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said at the presser through the interpreter.
“Our Australian counterparts have expressed their steadfast support for enhancing the human rights of North Koreans and for our policies aimed at reunification,” he said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called Russia’s “provision of materials” to the North in violation of U.N. sanctions resolutions “destabilizing” actions that undermine peace and security.
“It is important for us to not only express solidarity with the Republic of Korea, in the face of this aggression, but also to call out Russia’s behavior as irresponsible and destabilizing,” Wong said.
The two sides also expressed concern about deve
lopments in the South China Sea, the joint statement said, amid persistent territorial disputes in the waters.
They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability, and freedom of navigation and overflight in and above the South China Sea and East China Sea in line with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to the statement.
The ministers also agreed to explore trilateral cooperation with Japan and reiterated their resolve to work together with “like-minded” Indo-Pacific partners, it said.
The talks came more than two years after the last such meeting took place in Seoul in September 2021. The following session had initially been scheduled for October last year, but it was canceled amid tensions in the Middle East that prompted countries to attend to the urgency of the situation.
Australia is the only country with which South Korea holds regular talks of the foreign and defense chiefs besides its ally, the United States.
Cho and Shin also held separate bilateral talks w
ith their respective counterparts. The South Korean ministers have been on a weeklong visit to Australia.
The next 2+2 talks will take place in South Korea in 2026, according to the statement.
Source: Yonhap News Agency