This article covers sectoral cooperation between India and the Republic of Korea (ROK): defence, the navies and coast guards, defence industry, science and technology, artificial intelligence and digital technology, and energy. It is based on the MEA brief of July 2026.

Defence relations

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India-ROK defence relations have strengthened in recent years. Bilateral mechanisms cover the armed services, defence policy and the defence industry, and service-level talks across the three arms of the military are held biennially.

Raksha Mantri Sh. Rajnath Singh visited the ROK from 19-21 May 2026 and held a bilateral meeting with ROK Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-bak. The brief states that important MoUs were co-signed during the visit. A Defence Industry Round Table was held in Seoul on 20 May 2026, co-chaired by the Raksha Mantri and the Minister of DAPA.

On 21 May 2026, a Commemoration Ceremony of the first Indian War Memorial was held at Imjingak Peace Park, Paju, in the presence of the Raksha Mantri and the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The memorial showcases India's contributions during the Korean War.

Service-level exchanges

  • Army: Army Staff Talks were held in India in September 2024. ROK Army Chief Park Jeong-hwan visited New Delhi in September 2023 for the Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs' Conference, and Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande visited the ROK in November 2023.
  • Air Force: Air Force Staff Talks were held in the ROK in November 2024. General Lee Youngsu, Chief of Staff of the ROK Air Force, visited India on 17-21 March 2024 and discussed cooperation in aerospace, AI and cyber technologies.
  • Navy: Navy Staff Talks were held in India in April 2023. The inaugural India-ROK bilateral naval exercise took place in the ROK on 13-16 October 2025, with INS SAHYADRI and ROKS NOJEOKBONG.

The brief notes that navy and coast guard ships visit each other's ports regularly. The ROK Navy destroyer Gang Gam-chan took part in the International Fleet Review (IFR-2026) and Exercise MILAN-2026 at Vizag from 17-26 February 2026, and an ROK Navy delegation attended the 9th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Chiefs Conclave. The ROK destroyer Dae Jo Yeong made three port calls at Mumbai and Goa in March and April 2026 for logistic support.

Coast guard cooperation

Commissioner General Kim Yong Jin, Chief of the Korea Coast Guard, visited India from 20-24 July 2025 and met the Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. The two sides signed an MOU on 'Cooperation in Maritime Search & Rescue' on the sidelines of the 13th High Level Meeting.

A Korea Coast Guard delegation took part in the 10th NATPOLREX exercise conducted by the Indian Coast Guard in October 2025. An Indian Coast Guard delegation attended capacity building training in the ROK in June 2025, and ICG Ship SUJAY visited the ROK in September 2024.

Defence industry

A Roadmap for Defence Industries Cooperation was signed in September 2020. A contract for an additional 100 K9 Vajra was signed on 04 April 2025 between Hanwha Aerospace and L&T, India.

For the second consecutive year, an India Pavilion was set up at the Korea Defence Expo, KADEX-2024. MOUs on defence industry joint ventures between Indian and ROK companies were signed during Aero-India at Bengaluru on 10-11 February 2025, on 05 December 2025 in India, and on 20 May 2026 during the Defence Industry Round Table. Delegations from India's defence training institutions have also visited the ROK: the College of Defence Management in October 2024, the Army War College in November 2025 and the National Defence College in June 2026.

Science, technology and artificial intelligence

The brief records joint R&D projects in domains such as green mobility, ICT and material science. In the run-up to the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the Embassy of India organised an AI Roundtable with the National Research Council of S&T of the ROK on 19 January 2026.

ROK Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Kyunghoon Bae took part in the AI Impact Summit 2026 on 19-20 February and held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of MeitY, Ashwani Vaishnaw. The ROK also endorsed the Summit declaration. During the leaders' summit of April 2026, a Framework for India-Korea Digital Bridge was launched along with an MoU on S&T cooperation.

Other technology dialogues listed in the brief include:

  • the Inaugural India-ROK-US Trilateral Dialogue on Critical & Emerging Technologies, held in Seoul on 12 March 2024
  • the second edition of the bilateral Cyber Dialogue, held in Seoul on 28 May 2024
  • MeitY's participation in the AI Global Forum and the AI Seoul Summit Ministerial Meeting on 22 May 2024

Energy, nuclear and shipbuilding

Bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Talks were held in Seoul in July 2023 between India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the ROK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). Energy is also the subject of the Joint Statement on Energy Resource Security issued during the April 2026 State visit.

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, visited the ROK in November 2025 to discuss collaboration with ROK companies in shipbuilding. On 20 April 2026 in New Delhi he met Mr. Kim Jung-kwan, ROK Minister for Trade, Industry and Resources, to discuss collaboration as major energy consumers and ways to increase bilateral energy trade.

In July 2025, ROK lawmakers Rep. Gyeongjong Mo and Rep. Yongtae Kim visited India to study renewable energy and opportunities for bilateral cooperation. They met the Chairman and members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy and the Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and visited the solar park at Bhadla, Rajasthan, which the brief describes as India's largest (2.2 GW).