South Korea “welcomes” the AUKUS members’ consideration of Seoul as one of the partners of its second pillar on sharing advanced military technology, ROK defense minister Shin Won-sik said on Wednesday after the foreign and defense ministerial meeting in Melbourne. AUKUS stands for Australia, the U.K., and the U.S.

On Wednesday, Canberra also appeared to expresssupport for the South Korean defense manufacturer Hanwha Group’s attempt to acquire the Australian shipbuilding firm Austral, which had previously rejected the bid. This comes amid defense deals worth $2.4 billion between the two countries, including the ROK’s export of 129 Redback infantry fighting