Industry ministry pushes AI, quantum standards cooperation with US

South Korea's industry ministry said it will work with US standard-setting bodies on AI and quantum technologies as countries compete to shape global standards for advanced industries.

The initiative follows the government's approval of its sixth Basic Plan for National Standards for 2026-30. The plan calls for securing leadership in standards for future core industries in response to competition among major countries over AI and digital transformation.

The push follows the sixth Korea-US Standards Cooperation Forum, co-hosted by the ministry's standards agency and the American National Standards Institute in Denver on July 31. Experts from industry, academia and research organizations in both countries attended.

Participants shared the latest standardization trends in AI, quantum technology, future vehicles and biotechnology. They also discussed ways to build a practical cooperation framework to jointly propose and secure future international standards.

Alongside the forum, the agency held separate meetings with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, ANSI and the Standards Council of Canada. It discussed AI and quantum cooperation with NIST; with SCC, it agreed to expand work across critical and emerging technologies through AI pre-standardization cooperation and a joint work plan. In its regular meeting with ANSI, it shared national standards policies and discussed broader private-sector cooperation with US standards development organizations and stronger coordination at ISO and IEC.

"We will make action-plan implementation and expert exchanges with North American standards bodies including ANSI, NIST and SCC regular practices, and seek to maximize execution so Korean technologies are adopted as global standards and establish a presence in overseas markets," Kim Dae-ja, head of the ministry's standards agency, said.

The agency has also announced 82 new projects under its 2026 National Standards Technology Improvement Program. It said the projects would support exports and efforts to secure global standards in advanced industries including AI.