Korea to participate in Galileo

South korea has signed a wide-ranging co-operationagreement with the EU that will see it participate in the Galileo satellite navigation project. The agreement covers scientific research and training, industrial cooperation, trade and market development, standards, certification and regulatory measures.

Korea is the third Asian country to sign such an agreement. China and India have already signed similar co-operation agreements, as have Morocco, Israel, Ukraine and the US. Negotiations are on-going with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico and Norway.

Commenting on the latest agreement with Korea, European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot said, “We are particularly pleased to count the Republic of Korea as an important partner in satellite navigation. The country has the know-how to exploit Galileo’s state-of-the art technology, particularly in mass markets, and we plan to jointly develop activities for advanced applications, which will not only benefit citizens but also increase safety and efficiency in many sectors.”

When operational in 2008, the Galileo system will provide a similar service to the US military’s Global Positioning System (GPS). A joint project between the EU and the European Space Agency, Galileo is designed to complement GPS and the Russian GLONASS system for a variety of applications, including construction.