Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter | South Korea and the US space alliance agreement is an opening of

new era to strengthen the cooperative bond between the two countries not only in military and economic

alliance but now on in a technological alliance too. 

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has visited the NASA Goddard Research Center in the US States on

Tuesday April 25, 2023.

President Yoon was warmly welcomed by the Kamala D. Harris, the Vice President of the United States and

the chairman of the US Space Commission and Solidarity for Space Alliance and agreed to make strong bond of space alliance between South Korea and the US.

President Yoon and Vice President Harris agreed that the ROK-US space alliance will be at the center of the

technological alliance as the bond between the two countries over the past 70 years is evolving from a

military alliance to an economic alliance and now a technological alliance.

 

The leaders of both counties emphasized that the scope of the ROK-US alliance is also expanding from Earth to space, and they hope that the space alliance between the two countries will expand beyond technology

and economy to space security. 

 

President Yoon on his visit to Nasa expressed his feelings and said, “I vividly remember the moment that

Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, when Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the surface of the moon. From then on, space has been my dream and challenge.” 

 

“I will renew my promise to achieve the dream” he said.

 

During this visit, the ‘Joint Statement on Cooperation in Space Exploration and Space Science’ was signed

between the Minister of Science & ICT and the Vice Administrator of NASA. 

 

The US and South Korea agreed to discover joint tasks in several areas such as the lunar exploration program, satellite navigation system, the space exploration, and to materialize them one by one. Afterwards, the newly

established Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA: Korea AeroSpace Administration) plans to lead space co-

operation between the two countries.

 

President Yoon emphasized that "the joint statement signed today will serve as an opportunity to evolve

space cooperation between the two countries one step further into a space alliance that is both in name and reality." 

 

In addition, he shared his vision for the future by saying, "I am always convinced that our future lies in space," and landed on the moon in 2032 last year to start mining resources, landed on Mars in 2045, and made a

'leap' to become one of the five major space technology powerhouses as he has created a 'space economy

roadmap last year.”

 

Further “the space alliance cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the United States will be streng-

thened through KASA and NASA”, declared Yoon.

 

Yoon expressed his hope that “the benefits of space development would go to people around the world and play a leading role in establishing fair and rational principles for the use of space through the ROK-US Space Alliance.”

 

Moreover, President Yoon and Vice President Harris has exchanged their opinions while watching the pro-

duction site of the next-generation space telescope, the Roman Telescope, and the meteorological observation satellite being developed to respond to the climate crisis.

 

The US vice President Harris emphasized on the need to solve the climate crisis through space,’ and the ROK president Yoon said, “the space would provide mankind with economic prosperity and a breakthrough in

solving global problems such as the climate crisis.”

 

He also revealed the meaning of this meeting, saying, "This very day will be remembered as the starting point of the space alliance between the two countries and the resolution of the climate crisis at the space level."

 

 

Meanwhile, Yoon had a conversation with Korean space scientists working for NASA, introduced by Vice

President Harris, encouraged their hard work and listened to their work experiences.

 

This event was attended by key U.S. space-related figures, including Pam Melroy, the NASA Deputy Administrator, Mackenzie Listrup Goddard Space Center Director, Johnny Kim the astronaut candidate, and Chirac Parik,

the Secretary General of the National Space Council and about 20 Korean space scientists, including Johnny

Kim, Edward Kim, and Dr. Sujeong Koh, attended the dialogue.