The US and South Korea have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to work together in combatting false propaganda and disinformation.

This is the initial agreement between Washington and its Asian partner, as U.S. authorities and legislators accuse China of carrying out “misleading online efforts” against the United States and other nations. Chinese officials have denied these allegations.

Liz Allen, the United States’ undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, is currently on a trip to Asia. On Friday, she held a meeting with her South Korean counterpart and finalized a deal with South Korea to combat disinformation.

During his time in Tokyo, Allen will engage in bilateral talks with officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a particular emphasis on addressing and combatting harmful foreign influence.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Friday stating that both nations were worried about the spread of false information and manipulation of overseas information, which poses a threat across borders. In order to enhance cooperation in addressing these issues, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed.

According to a spokesperson from the State Department, the signing of this MOU is a clear indication that we both acknowledge foreign information manipulation as a threat to national security. This statement was made to VOA on Friday.

During the inaugural trilateral summit at Camp David in August, President Joe Biden of the United States, President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan reached a consensus to collaborate on combatting disinformation through coordinated efforts.

According to an official from the South Korean Embassy, President Yoon raised concerns about false propaganda and disinformation during his speech to the Joint Session of U.S. Congress in April. As a result, discussions are currently underway with the U.S. regarding potential actions to address this issue.

On Thursday, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, denounced the Chinese Communist Party for their growing use of deceitful online campaigns aimed at the United States and other nations.

The Republican representative stated that the CCP has explicitly declared its intention to employ any means necessary to promote its harmful agenda.

The government of South Korea has discovered 38 potential fraudulent Korean news websites that are believed to be run by Chinese businesses. In November, the South Korean National Intelligence Service reported that two Chinese PR firms, Haimai and Haixun, were supposedly behind these websites, according to Yonhap News Agency in Seoul.

A report released in September by the State Department’s Global Engagement Center claims that the Chinese government is utilizing various strategies to create a world where they have control over the dissemination of important information. The U.S. has cautioned that China is investing billions of dollars in attempts to manipulate the global information landscape and ultimately gain influence over multiple countries.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded, referring to the Global Engagement Center as the headquarters for “perception warfare.”

The State Department’s Global Engagement Center’s special envoy, James Rubin, has stated that the United States is collaborating with its allies to identify and combat false information and misleading content on a global scale.

In the month of May, the United States entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with North Macedonia. In September, another agreement was signed with Bulgaria, both with the goal of increasing collaboration in combating foreign information manipulation.

This article has been revised to accurately state the names of the countries involved in signing the Memorandum of Understanding to combat disinformation.