South Korea and the United States have agreed to swiftly conclude the adoption of a Security of Supply Arrangement(SOSA) once related administrative procedures are complete.

Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Monday that its minister, Eom Dong-hwan, and U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante reached the agreement in a meeting of the Defense Technology and Industrial Cooperation Committee(DTICC) last Friday.

The DTICC is one of the subcommittees of the Security Consultative Meeting, the annual ministerial defense dialogue between Seoul and Washington.

A SOSA is an agreement between the Pentagon and allied countries that establishes a framework for the U.S. to receive and provide priority support for defense-related goods and services.

The two officials also discussed ways to pursue the adoption of a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement as part of efforts to build a continuous cooperative structure by opening each other’s defense industry markets.

Last Friday’s DTICC meeting was the first in five years after being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the next meeting set to be held in South Korea in the second quarter of next year.