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| Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Minister Eom Dong-hwan, sixth from left, William A. LaPlante, the U.S.' under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, sixth from right, and other Korean and U.S. officials pose as they take part in the bilateral Defense Technological Industrial Cooperation Committee in Washington, July 28, in this photo provided by DAPA, July 31. Yonhap |
Korea and the United States agreed to sign an arrangement aimed at bolstering bilateral security supply chains in senior-level defense cooperation talks last week, Seoul's arms procurement agency said Monday.
Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Minister Eom Dong-hwan and William A. LaPlante, the U.S. under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, made the agreement during the Defense Technological Industrial Cooperation Committee in Washington on Friday, according to DAPA.
The two sides agreed to ink the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA), which will allow the allies to make requests for priority delivery for defense-related orders from each other, once they complete relevant administrative procedures.
They also discussed efforts to sign the Reciprocal Defense Procurement-Agreement, which is designed to ease some trade barriers for bilateral arms exports.
In May last year, Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden agreed to begin discussions on the agreement as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation in defense supply chains during their summit in Seoul.
During the latest talks, the two sides also agreed to explore ways for joint research and development in key technologies, and hold the committee's next session in Korea in the second quarter of next year.
"(We) will expand more areas of cooperation in the future and complete the signing of the bilateral SOSA at an early date," Eom was quoted as saying.
The latest session of the annual talks marked the first one since 2018 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)
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