South Korea is discussing participation in the AUKUS defense pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said on Wednesday.

Shin was speaking at a press conference following a meeting of Australian and South Korean defense and foreign ministers in Melbourne.

"During today's meeting we also discussed the possibility of partnering with AUKUS Pillar 2," Shin said, referring to a deal focused on developing hypersonic weapons, drones and other advanced technologies.

The AUKUS deal

Established in  2021, AUKUS is a two-stage security pact to push back against China's growing influence in the Asia Pacific region.

Pillar 1 is focused on providing Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines. South Korea is not expected to be part of that project.

Pillar 2 aims to develop advanced warfighting capabilities such as artificial intelligence, undersea drones and hypersonic missiles.

"We support AUKUS Pillar 2 activities and we do welcome that members are considering Korea as an AUKUS Pillar 2 partner," Shin said.

AUKUS on the lookout for partners

Australia, Britain and the United States have said they are open to other partners participating in the pact, with Japan, South Korea and New Zealand all reportedly in consideration.

"Korea is obviously a country with deeply impressive technology," Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.

"As AUKUS Pillar 2 develops, I think there will be opportunities in the future," he added.

Last month, the pact members said they were considering working with Japan on specific Pillar 2 defense projects and would hold discussions over Tokyo's involvement this year.

China, which strongly opposes the AUKUS pact, said in April that adding new members would destabilize the region.

As China's influence grows in the Pacific, Washington has been responding by attempting to bind allies together in several bilateral and multilateral pacts.

dvv/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)