GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — President Lee Jae Myung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to widen the scope of their bilateral defense industry cooperation through a new military information sharing pact, amid an ongoing bid for Canada's submarine procurement with a South Korean consortium among the finalists.
Lee and Carney finalized the yearslong negotiations on the "Agreement on the Protection of Military and Defense Classified Information" during a summit and lunch meeting held Thursday.
If the pact -- which would provide a framework for the exchange and protection of classified information related to the military and defense -- enters into force, it will provide "the legal foundation for enhanced collaboration in defence procurement, defence industrial security, research and operational coordination," read the joint statement.
This means that entities not limited to the government — such as South Korean firms seeking a procurement deal in Canada — might be given access to military intelligence, as the two countries' existing General Security of Military Information Agreement, signed in 1999, limits the information-sharing access to the governments of the two countries.
The joint statement during Carney's official visit to South Korea for the APEC summit comes as the Canadian government in August shortlisted the potential bidders for its project to procure up to 12 diesel-electric powered submarines to a South Korean group led by Hanwha Ocean and Germany-based TKMS, formerly known as Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.
On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conferences, Lee received Carney in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in their first meeting since the Group of Seven Summit in Canada in June. The statement did not elaborate on when the pact was expected to take effect.
During the closed-door session of the summit, Lee expressed South Korea's willingness to contribute to enhancing Canada's defense capability in a swift manner, presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said during a briefing Thursday.
Kim also said the two verbally agreed to set up a consultation body to deepen defense industry cooperation, without further elaborating on the timeframe. Kim, however, declined to comment on how their agreement on military information exchange could facilitate South Korea's bid for Canadian submarine procurement.
Their summit was accompanied by an official lunch, which featured a non-alcoholic beverage with Canadian maple syrup and Korean ginger syrup, Canadian lobster paired with tenderloin steak made of Korean beef, a mousse cake and a roasted grain beverage, according to the presidential office.
Later on Thursday, Carney and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok visited a Hanwha Ocean shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.
Carney, who arrived in South Korea on Wednesday, was accompanied by his wife Diana Fox Carney, Minister of National Defense David McGuinty and Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu.
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