Korea Policy
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Korea Policy Vol. 2, Issue 2About Korea Policy
Korea Policy is the premier journal for analysis and commentary on developments affecting the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Bridging scholarly insight and policy relevance, Korea Policy features original research and expert perspectives on strategic, political, economic, and other issues shaping Korea’s role in the world. In this way, KEI aims to inform academic debate, guide policy discussions, and foster a deeper understanding of the important partnership between the United States and South Korea. Contributions come from leading scholars, practitioners, and emerging voices across various fields.
Korea Policy is an open-source academic journal commissioned, edited, and published by the Korea Economic Institute of America in Washington, D.C
Defense industrial cooperation between the United States and South Korea is deeply rooted in the bilateral security alliance and has evolved over time. The United States has prioritized allied cooperation and tapped into the appreciable national capacities and defense industrial bases of its allies and partners. Yet, the United States and South Korea have nuanced approaches to allied cooperation regarding the defense industry and related technology. For Washington, pursuing cooperation with South Korea and increasing cooperation among allies are important as means to realize its global strategy and win in strategic competition with adversaries. For Seoul, enhancing defense industrial cooperation with the United States is not only a means to deepen the alliance relationship but also an end in itself. Namely, Seoul seeks to strengthen its own defense industrial base and defense capabilities, which in totality determines competence. It anticipates reforming its defense industry base practices, lifting caps on existing methods of defense cooperation with the United States, and increasing access to the US market. The 2024 US National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) aims to create a modernized defense ecosystem that harnesses cooperation among the government, industries, and their counterparts in ally and partner states. This is expected to have a significant impact on South Korea’s future defense and acquisition policy, as well as institutional arrangements. This paper reviews recent developments and identifies challenges in allied defense industrial cooperation to offer policy recommendations.