S. Korea pushes to send troops to join Australia's space training program

▲ This file photo, provided by South Korea's Air Force and taken Aug. 29, 2022, shows a South Korean KF-16 fighter jet preparing to take off from an airbase in Darwin, Australia. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Australia Air Forces

S. Korea pushes to send troops to join Australia's space training program

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Air Force is seeking to send its personnel to participate in the Australian military's space training program, Seoul officials said Wednesday, in a sign of growing security cooperation between the two middle-power democracies.

The move comes in line with a bilateral space cooperation arrangement that the Air Force's Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa signed with his Australian counterpart Air Marshal Robert Chipman during a trip to Britain in July.

"Through the space policy consultative body between the South Korean and Australian Air Forces, we are seeking to regularly participate in the Australian Air Force's basic space program," the armed service here said without elaborating.

The move is expected to help South Korea's efforts to enhance its space-related security capabilities, including detecting threats from space.

In January, the Joint Chiefs of Staff launched a new branch dedicated to developing the country's space defense capabilities, while the Air Force installed a space center under the direct control of its chief of staff in September last year.

South Korea's military has recently stepped up efforts for closer ties with Australia, with its Air Force taking part in a biennial multinational air exercise hosted by the country for the first time in August.

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