Kim Seon-ho, acting Minister of National Defense, spoke on the phone with Richard Marles, the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, on the morning of the 5th, and the Ministry of National Defense noted that they discussed ways to expand defense and defense industry cooperation between the two countries.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, Acting Minister Kim stated that while continuing to strengthen the rapidly developing defense and defense industry cooperation between South Korea and Australia, they should further expand relations through joint exercises and high-level exchanges amid a severe international security environment. He also conveyed South Korea's willingness to continue participating in Australia's military modernization projects, noting that defense industry cooperation between the two countries has achieved remarkable growth over the past three years.
Both sides agreed to continue discussions on ways for South Korean defense corporations to contribute to enhancing Australia's defense capabilities. They also reaffirmed that South Korea and Australia are core partners that share values and interests, and they stated that they would closely cooperate by communicating frequently for the development and cooperation of their "comprehensive strategic partnership" and defense exchanges.