South Korea, the United States, and Japan launched a joint research initiative, with the trio to form a trilateral committee and begin searching for research topics.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Thursday that it inked a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration and Japan‘s Cabinet Office’s Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation to pave the way for joint research endeavors among the three research institutions. The trilateral joint research was proposed during a trilateral economic and security dialogue initiated by Seoul, Washington, and Tyoko in early 2023, and became an agreement at the Camp David Summit held in August of the same year.

With the MoC now inked, the three nations will now look for research opportunities. Representatives from each country will now take part in technical discussions to delineate project priorities and evaluate proposals by research institutions. Experts from each country will propose research topics based on mutual interests, with cooperation priorities being determined via intergovernmental consultations.

The committee will be responsible for selecting the joint research projects to pursue and aligning them with priorities, with the selection process expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Trilateral collaboration will involve various activities, including joint research and development, information exchange, peer review, and sharing of materials and equipment, along with organizing seminars and conferences.

By Ko Jae-won and Han Yubin

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