Ministry of Science and ICT Resumes Korea-Japan Radio Bureau Chiefs Meeting After 4 Years

Follow-up Measures After the Korea-Japan Summit Meeting

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 26th that it held the "4th Korea-Japan Radio Bureau Chiefs Meeting" on the 23rd, represented by Choi Woo-hyuk, Director General of Radio Policy, and Motonobu Toyoshima, Director of the Radio Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

This meeting is part of follow-up measures to continue the spirit of activating intergovernmental communication and enhancing cooperation in Korea-Japan relations across a wide range of fields, as presented in the Korea-Japan summit meeting. The Korea-Japan Radio Bureau Chiefs Meeting has been promoted since 2010 to discuss the need for mutual cooperation in the radio field and concrete measures to enhance cooperation. It resumed after a four-year hiatus since 2019.

Deputy Minister TAKEUCHI Yoshiaki of Japan (left) and Director Choi Woo-hyuk of Korea's Radio Policy Bureau (right) are posing for a commemorative photo after attending the "4th Korea-Japan Radio Directors Meeting."

At the meeting, both Korea and Japan discussed joint responses at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC23), including research on discovering candidate frequency bands for 6G, promotion of Korea-Japan ministerial-level consultations related to science, technology, and digital sectors within the year, and cooperation on advancing domestic radio experts to chair international organizations (ITU's SG5).

Korea proposed promoting a joint Korea-Japan contribution on research to discover candidate frequency bands for 6G to be submitted to the AGP (Asia-Pacific WRC Preparatory Group) 23-6 meeting (August, Australia). The Japanese side agreed to actively consider this proposal.

Additionally, in preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conference to be held in Dubai this November, they discussed key agendas such as creating a mutually coexisting usage environment between Korea's mobile communication network and Japan's HIBS network. HIBS is a communication technology that expands coverage by mounting mobile communication base stations on flying objects such as drones. They also shared policies such as Japan's 28 GHz usage trends and Korea's frequency auction system.

At the meeting, both Korea and Japan agreed that continuous cooperation in the radio field not only benefits the development of domestic policies on both sides but also serves their common interests internationally, and agreed to hold bureau chief-level meetings annually. The next meeting will be hosted by Korea, with the detailed schedule, location, and agenda for the next year’s meeting to be decided later by mutual agreement.

Director General Choi Woo-hyuk proposed at a meeting with Japan’s Vice Minister TAKEUCHI Yoshiaki to hold ministerial-level consultations in the science, technology, and digital sectors within the year, beyond the radio field. The Japanese side agreed to consider this positively. If this meeting materializes, it will restore the ministerial-level dialogue channel in the science, technology, and digital sectors that had been suspended since 2018 after five years.

The Ministry of Science and ICT requested Japan’s support regarding the advancement of a domestic radio expert to the chairmanship of the ITU Radiocommunication Study Group (SG5) (November), and successfully secured cooperation from the Japanese side. If a domestic expert succeeds in becoming the chair of this ITU-R study group, Korea is expected to secure a favorable position to lead global discussions on 6G technology development and standardization in the future.

Director General Choi Woo-hyuk said, "Through this Korea-Japan Radio Bureau Chiefs Meeting, we shared information on major radio policies of both countries and discussed directions for continuous cooperation on next-generation (6G) frequency discovery research and the agenda for the next WRC."