President Yoon Suk Yeol along with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on April 25 speaks at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the Washington suburb of Greenbelt, Maryland.(Office of the President)

President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 25 visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the Washington suburb of Greenbelt, Maryland, accompanied by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and NASA on the same day signed a joint communique on cooperation in space exploration and science.

Under the statement, the two countries agreed to find and pursue joint projects in lunar and space exploration and the global positioning system.

The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), the forthcoming Korean equivalent of NASA to be set up by Seoul, will lead the implementation of joint tasks in the project. KASA will also look for ways to expand Korea's participation in the U.S.-led Artemis program of manned and robotic lunar exploration.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 25 shakes hands with ethnic Korean scientists while visiting NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Office of the President)

President Yoon said, "The joint communique to be signed today between NASA and Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT will serve as a springboard for taking space cooperation between our two allies to the next level of a space alliance," mentioning Korea's Space Economy Roadmap designed to make the country a top-five world power in space technology.

"With KASA on the way, cooperation between KASA and NASA down the road will be the driving force behind forging a strong space alliance," he added. "The first step in that direction will have to be a bilateral communication platform that can facilitate joint projects and the exchange of people, information, and knowledge between KASA and NASA."

Vice President Harris said, "We renew our commitment to strengthen our cooperation in the next frontier of our expanding alliance, and of course that is space," adding, "Our task is to work together to guide humanity forward safely, sustainably and peacefully into this new frontier. In this mission, the United States is very proud to work with South Korea."

"And in the future, we look forward to expanding our collaboration on the Artemis program, which will return astronauts to the moon for the first time in 50 years and lay the groundwork for our mission to Mars."

The Office of the President said, "This meeting was a meaningful occasion to consolidate the space alliance between both countries," adding, "President Yoon and Vice President Harris agreed that the ROK-U.S. alliance of the past 70 years is evolving from a military alliance to an economy and now a technology alliance. In particular, the space alliance will be at the center of the technology alliance."

korea.net