{
  "id": 8406856,
  "title": "South Korea Signs Pact With EU on Satellite Network",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/south-korea-signs-pact-with-eu-on-satellite-network",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T07:21:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Kyiv Post",
    "slug": "kyiv-post",
    "url": "https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84884"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea and the European Union signed an agreement on Thursday to explore integrating Korea’s secure satellite network, K-LEO, with the EU’s IRIS² constellation. The Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony was attended by Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, who called it a \"starting point towards a deeper European Union-Korea partnership in secure space infrastructure.\"\n\nA working group comprising the Commission, the European Space Agency, and the Korean Defence Acquisition Program Administration will share information on secure connectivity programs and assess technical solutions for joint use cases. Giyoung Jeoung, deputy minister for South Korea’s Advanced Capabilities Program, stated that this arrangement \"marks a critical milestone in strengthening cooperation between Korea’s sovereign K-LEO program and the EU’s flagship IRIS² constellation.\"\n\nIRIS² is the EU's space-based secure military and commercial communications initiative, which plans to launch operations in 2029. Non-EU members Norway and Iceland have pledged to join the project, contributing €40 million ($45.9 million) and €3 million ($3.4 million) respectively for 2026–2027. The EU currently allocates €10.6 billion ($12.2 billion) to IRIS², with future allocations to be negotiated after the next EU seven-year budget is finalized.\n\nSouth Korea would be the first Asian nation to join the constellation, providing access to the EU’s secure constellation architecture while allowing the EU space industry to benefit from Korean industrial expertise. However, it remains uncertain when Seoul would initiate negotiations to join IRIS². The country already has a long-standing partnership with the EU in space, including participation in the Galileo civil satellite navigation program since 2006.",
  "summary": "South Korea signed an administrative agreement with the European Commission on Thursday to explore future integration with the EU’s flagship IRIS² secure satellite constellation. European Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and South Korean defense officials confirmed that a joint working group will evaluate system-level cooperation between Korea’s sovereign K-LEO program and IRIS²,…",
  "key_points": [
    "South Korea and EU sign agreement to explore K-LEO integration with IRIS².",
    "Working group to share info on secure connectivity and assess joint use cases.",
    "IRIS² plans to launch operations in 2029 with EU investment of €10.6 billion."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}