South Korea has entered talks with the United States to forge an agreement to mutually recognize each other's airworthiness assessment of military aircraft, Seoul's military procurement agency said Tuesday.

The negotiations began after the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a deal with the U.S.' National Airworthiness Council on March 23.

Under the deal, the allies will have a six-month assessment of each other's airworthiness approval process before deciding in late September whether to formally sign a mutual recognition agreement, the agency said.

The signing of the final agreement would simplify the required safety assessment process that both countries' militaries have to undergo before adopting or borrowing military airplanes from the other side.

It would also help South Korea export its aircraft to the U.S. more easily, according the DAPA.

Currently, the U.S. has similar mutual airworthiness assessment recognition agreements with four countries like Britain and Canada.

"Militarily, the mutual recognition is expected to improve the effectiveness of the two countries' operations, and economically, it could possibly boost export of locally-made aircraft," a DAPA official said. (Yonhap)