On Friday (26 September 2025), NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments, Ms Tarja Jaakkola, opened the first staff-to-staff dialogue on defence industrial cooperation and capabilities between NATO and the Republic of Korea. Ms Jaakkola and representatives of the Defence Acquisition Program Administration of the Republic of Korea discussed recent developments in the areas of defence industrial production and defence capabilities.
"While continuing to modernise NATO's deterrence and defence, and expanding our defence industrial capacity, we aim to continue to enhance our partnership with the Republic of Korea, one of our valued Indo-Pacific partners. We seek to strengthen mutually beneficial partnerships in the areas of Defence Industrial Cooperation and Capabilities," said Ms Jaakkola.
The dialogue follows the statement by the NATO Secretary General and the four Indo-Pacific partners, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand, during the NATO Summit in The Hague. It set out how NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners will continue to learn from one another on key topics, including the security of supply chains, development, production and procurement processes.
During the dialogue, NATO staff and representatives from Republic of Korea explored potential collaboration on projects with interested Allies and partners, including in the space and land domains, munitions, and Research and Development.
