Cho Chang-rae (left), the Director of Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, shakes hands with Elbridge Colby, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, before a meeting following the 26th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) held in Washington, D.C., on the 1st and 2nd of this month. Photo provided by the Ministry of National Defense.
[Seoul Economy]
Korea and the U.S. have agreed to cooperate on the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of naval vessels, their construction, and also on the MRO of military aircraft.
According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 7th, the Korean side proposed at the 26th KIDD meeting held in Washington, D.C., on the 1st and 2nd of this month that the two countries cooperate on naval vessel MRO and construction, to which the U.S. side expressed a welcoming response.
The Korean side emphasized that Korean shipbuilding companies have sufficient capabilities, technology, and willingness in the areas of naval vessel MRO and construction, and that cooperation in these fields would benefit the U.S.
In particular, the Ministry reported that Korea and the U.S. agreed to pursue cooperation on the MRO of military aircraft, including fighter jets and transport planes.
KIDD is a high-level meeting platform established in 2011 for security consultations between Korea and the U.S., held alternately once or twice a year.
The recent KIDD meeting, the first since the inauguration of the second Trump administration in January, was attended by key defense and diplomatic officials from both countries, including Cho Chang-rae from the Ministry of National Defense, and John No, acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, and Andrew Winternitz, acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia from the U.S.
During the meeting, Korea and the U.S. reaffirmed their common goal of “complete denuclearization of North Korea” and shared the perception that North Korea-Russia military cooperation threatens stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. The two countries agreed to continue operating the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which is an extended deterrence consultation mechanism established during Trump’s second administration.
A Ministry of National Defense official stated, “During this KIDD meeting, we agreed to continuously seek alliance cooperation to enhance the execution of extended deterrence through the NCG,” adding that “the first NCG after the start of Trump’s second administration is expected to be held between June and August of this year.”
Regarding the transition of wartime operational control, Korea reaffirmed its existing principle of systematically and stably pursuing a conditions-based transition of wartime operational control, while accelerating the acquisition of necessary capabilities for the transition.
Additionally, the Ministry reported that both sides agreed on continuing to strengthen joint exercises and training, maintaining the momentum of Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and expanding defense science and technology cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous technologies, and manned-unmanned teaming systems.