A senior U.S. official said the United States, South Korea and other allies are discussing the creation of a multilateral export control regime to prevent adversaries from acquiring cutting-edge technologies such as semiconductors and quantum computing.

Alan Estevez, U.S. under secretary of commerce for industry and security, made the remarks at a forum in Washington on the economic security of South Korea and the U.S. on Tuesday.

Estevez said that the failure of current multilateral export control systems, particularly the Wassenaar Arrangement, to keep up with technological development necessitates a new system that can act at the “speed of quantum.”

The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime with 42 participating states including South Korea, the U.S., Russia and Ukraine that was established to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.

The under secretary said that the arrangement is contingent on voluntary implementation by signatories, who have thus far failed to act against Russia, stressing the need for a new export control regime.

As for the semiconductor industry, Estevez said that there are not many countries that actually make chips or related equipment, and those countries could participate in the new regime.

He also noted that South Korea is among the few countries working on advanced quantum computers, and the U.S. does not think a new regime is possible without Seoul’s involvement.