The United States and South Korea’s defense officials agreed to strengthen bilateral security supply chains at the 48th Annual Defense Technological and Industrial Cooperation Committee meeting at the Pentagon, the Department of Defense announced on July 31, 2023.
The meeting was co-chaired by the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante and South Korean Minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Eom Dong-hwan.
The U.S.-South Korea Defense Technological and Industrial Cooperation Committee is focused on ensuring the continued interoperability between the forces of the two countries through a broad range of discussions on all aspects of defense acquisition.
During the meeting, the officials discussed supply chain resiliency and highlighted the importance of finding opportunities to strengthen industrial base resilience through cooperation and collaboration, especially with their allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to the Department of Defense release, both leaders discussed “the ROK’s Defense Acquisition Programs Training Institute (DATPI) and its partnership with Defense Acquisition University,” as South Korean Minister Eom expressed his gratitude for “DATPI-DAU collaboration in training the ROK acquisition workforce.”
The U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, LaPlante also conveyed his support for “DAPA’s endeavor to identify and train acquisition professionals, encouraging continued engagement to further these common goals.”
LaPlante emphasized the Department of Defense’s commitment to “building resiliency and better incentivizing industry to prepare for emergent global security needs,” the Pentagon statement highlighted.
The U.S. and South Korean defense leaders concluded the dialogue with an update on efforts to conclude a bilateral Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA). The leaders from both countries were “encouraged by the work completed to date and confirmed their respective teams will continue coordination to finalize this important arrangement,” the statement added.
South Korea’s DAPA Minister Eom Dong-hwan said, “[We] will expand more areas of cooperation in the future and complete the signing of the bilateral SOSA at an early date.” The defense leaders also agreed on the need to enhance joint research and development in key technologies and hold the next session of the committee in South Korea in the second quarter of 2024.
