In the talks between the Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his South Korean counterpart Yu Myung-hwan, India and South Korea have agreed to explore the possibilities for bilateral civil nuclear cooperation as well as the launching of South Korean satellites aboard India’s space launch vehicles. Both sides agreed to pursue a nuclear cooperation deal.

After securing a contract to build nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates, South Korea is seeking participation in India’s civil nuclear industry.

In the area of space activities, there is already a memorandum of understanding between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Korean Aerospace Research Institute which allows both sides to explore commercial opportunities with each other. The matter of Korea seeking launch facilities for its satellites, assumes critical importance in the face of multiple failures of Korea’s launch vehicle newly developed in collaboration with Russia.