South Korea, Japan Defense Chiefs Discuss Air Force Exchange and AI Cooperation

South Korean Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyu-baek and Japanese Minister of Defense Koizumi Shinji met at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on the 28th to discuss cooperation measures, including exchanges between their air forces' aerobatic teams, search and rescue training, and collaboration in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

The defense ministers of both nations agreed to continue consistent exchange and cooperation between their air force aerobatic teams, to advance search and rescue training in preparation for maritime accidents, and to persistently explore avenues for cooperation in cutting-edge technological fields such as artificial intelligence.

Notably, this marks the first time a Japanese Defense Minister has visited South Korea for bilateral talks in 11 years, underscoring significant interest in strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries.

The ministers did not officially include the matter of concluding a Reciprocal Defence Equipment Procurement Agreement (ACSA) on the agenda for this meeting.