The United States is considering including South Korea as a partner in Pillar Two cutting-edge military technology development projects under the AUKUS security partnership which comprises the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.

A senior official at the White House National Security Council(NSC), when asked by Yonhap News on Tuesday about potential partner states aside from Japan, said AUKUS was considering numerous countries, including South Korea, Canada and New Zealand, adding that they could add unique strength to the project.

It is the first time that South Korea has been named as a potential Pillar Two partner. Seoul is reportedly open to the partnership from a strategic perspective.

This comes after AUKUS defense chiefs on Monday officially mentioned Japan as a potential partner country for the first time during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's state visit to the U.S.

Pillar One of AUKUS aims to support Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, while Pillar Two is about opening the scope of cooperation in high-tech areas, including quantum computing and artificial intelligence.