South Korea is discussing participation in the AUKUS defense pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said on Wednesday.
Shin was speaking at a press conference following a meeting of Australian and South Korean defense and foreign ministers in Melbourne.
"During today's meeting we also discussed the possibility of partnering with AUKUS Pillar 2," Shin said, referring to a deal focused on developing hypersonic weapons, drones and other advanced technologies.
Established in 2021, AUKUS is a two-stage security pact to push back against China's growing influence in the Asia Pacific region.
Pillar 1 is focused on providing Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines. South Korea is not expected to be part of that project.
Pillar 2 aims to develop advanced warfighting capabilities such as artificial intelligence, undersea drones and hypersonic missiles.
"We support AUKUS Pillar 2 activities and we do welcome that members are considering Korea as an AUKUS Pillar 2 partner," Shin said.
Australia, Britain and the United States have said they are open to other partners participating in the pact, with Japan, South Korea and New Zealand all reportedly in consideration.
"Korea is obviously a country with deeply impressive technology," Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.
"As AUKUS Pillar 2 develops, I think there will be opportunities in the future," he added.
Last month, the pact members said they were considering working with Japan on specific Pillar 2 defense projects and would hold discussions over Tokyo's involvement this year.
China, which strongly opposes the AUKUS pact, said in April that adding new members would destabilize the region.
As China's influence grows in the Pacific, Washington has been responding by attempting to bind allies together in several bilateral and multilateral pacts.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.