U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter refused Thursday to accept South Korea's request for the transfer of key American technologies necessary for Seoul's "KF-X" indigenous jet fighter development project, officials said.
Carter stated the position when South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo asked him to reconsider the decision to reject the technology transfer during a meeting at the Pentagon, the South's Defense Ministry said in a statement. Han has been in Washington to accompany President Park Geun-hye on an official visit.
Carter said, however, that he would study ways of technological cooperation, the statement said. The two ministers also agreed to establish a consultative forum to discuss ways to increase cooperation in defense technology, including the KF-X project, it said.
The Korean Fighter Experimental (KF-X) project, under which South Korea is to produce 120 combat jets, hit a snag after the U.S. Department of State in April refused to grant permission for U.S.-based Lockheed Martin's export of four out of the 25 fighter jet technologies it has promised Seoul.
The two ministers also exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, such as August's military standoff between the two Koreas and the military parade held earlier this month to mark the 70th anniversary of the country's ruling Workers' Party, the statement said.
They also discussed the possibility of additional North Korean provocations.
The two sides agreed to continue with the conditions-based transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from Washington to Seoul and bolster cooperation in space, cyberspace and the defense industry, the statement said.
The ministers also made clear that the two countries will continue to maintain a solid combined defense posture and deal strongly with North Korean provocations, it said. (Yonhap)