South Korea and China resumed government-to-government strategic dialogue in the ICT sector for the first time in eight years and discussed ways to expand cooperation in digital technology and radio spectrum.

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT held the fifth South Korea-China ICT cooperation strategic dialogue with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing on Aug. 24.

The strategic dialogue is a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding on digital technology cooperation agreed after a South Korea-China summit in January. It was the first meeting of the South Korea-China ICT cooperation strategic dialogue since the fourth round in 2018.

The two sides shared policy on next-generation ICT development aimed at driving industrial and economic innovation. They also agreed that strengthening capabilities in core technologies and international cooperation are important to boost competitiveness in digital technology.

In digital inclusion, the two countries shared policies and experience aimed at improving access for digitally vulnerable groups such as older people and people with disabilities and strengthening the public's ability to use digital tools. They also discussed policy examples to respond to side effects that could arise during the spread of digital technology.

They also discussed ways to cooperate in radio spectrum. The two sides shared policies and experience aimed at using radio spectrum efficiently, a key foundation for next-generation ICT development. As the radio spectrum use environment is changing with the development of next-generation communications technology, the two geographically close countries also agreed to continue communication and exchanges in the spectrum field.

The two sides' chief representatives assessed that the strategic dialogue served as an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding of the two countries' ICT policies and share implications for future policy development.

Vice Prime Minister Kyung-hoon Bae (배경훈), who also serves as minister of science and ICT, said South Korea and China, as countries leading the development of digital technology, need to raise mutual understanding by sharing each other's policies and experience. He said he hopes the two governments will continue communication and broaden areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.