Presidents Biden, Yoon Emphasize U.S.-Korea Space Cooperation
Today, President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commemorated the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Alliance, calling for deeper ties across a number of areas, including space:
Our Alliance also applies to space, and President Yoon and President Biden committed to further strengthening the U.S.-ROK Alliance across all sectors and through multiple channels of space cooperation. The two Presidents welcomed the ROK’s intention to expand its investments in space exploration and announced plans to study concepts for cooperation on the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The United States welcomed the ROK’s new Korea Aero Space Administration, anticipating collaborative projects. Both sides called for strengthening U.S.-ROK commercial space cooperation and welcomed the United States’ recent clarification of its export control policies on satellites and satellite components, which provides a foundation for expanded bilateral commercial and governmental space cooperation. Both sides welcomed the potential for industrial collaboration on future commercial space stations. The two Presidents also welcomed deepening space security cooperation, including the ROK’s commitment not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing. Both sides will work towards advancing bilateral space situational awareness cooperation in response to growing space risks and threats, and ensuring a safe, secure, and sustainable space environment through further development of norms of responsible behaviors.