White House NSC Official: “Considering a variety of additional partners, including South Korea, in relation to Pillar 2”
South Korea was mentioned as a potential partner in the advanced military technology development project driven by AUKUS, a security alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
According to Yonhap News on the 9th, a senior official of the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) stated that, regarding the development of advanced military capabilities in Pillar 2, “We are considering a variety of additional partners, including Japan, that can bring unique strengths, such as South Korea, Canada, and New Zealand.” This is the first time South Korea has been explicitly mentioned as a potential Pillar 2 collaboration target for AUKUS.
This stance from the White House comes right after the defense ministers of the three AUKUS countries officially announced they were considering a Pillar 2 partnership with Japan. In a joint statement released in conjunction with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the United States, the defense ministers announced, “We recognize Japan’s strengths and the close defense cooperation relationship between Japan and the three AUKUS countries, and we are considering cooperating on the Pillar 2 advanced capability project with Japan.”
AUKUS is a military alliance launched in 2021 to counter the growing security threat from China in the Indian-Pacific region. While they have decided not to expand Pillar 1, which is to procure conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines for Australia, they have opened the door for cooperation with other countries in Pillar 2.
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