Washington: South Korea's defense ministry organized a conference in Washington this week to explore expanding defense and arms industry cooperation with the United States, as reported by ministry officials on Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the conference was led by Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee on Tuesday and was attended by around 120 individuals, including Michael Vaccaro, the U.S. acting principal deputy assistant secretary of state for the bureau of political-military affairs. The discussions focused on enhancing bilateral defense cooperation, particularly in shipbuilding, maintenance, repair, and operations, as a core component of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

The conference also concentrated on strengthening collaboration in advanced weapon systems and technologies, such as artificial intelligence and manned-unmanned teaming systems, which are pivotal in addressing future warfare scenarios. The defense ministry announced plans to transform the conference into a platform that supports the entry of domestic companies into international markets. This initiative will be coordinated with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency starting this year.