Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul discussed the fighter jet development project on the sideline of the Group of 20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, earlier this week.

The next-generation KF-21 fighter jet developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in a project partially backed by Indonesia is designed to be a cheaper, less stealthy alternative to the United States-built F-35, on which South Korea relies. Indonesia, however, has declined to pay 20 percent of the development cost, putting the development project for the fighter jet in limbo.

Jakarta has held off on the payments for nearly two years and South Korea has estimated that Indonesia has only paid about 278 billion won (US$209. 5 million) so far, with almost 1 trillion won in arrears.

In 2018, Indonesia sought to renegotiate to take pressure off its foreign exchange reserves and later offered to pay its share of the cost in the form of barter.

"The two ministers agreed to continue cooperation so that the strategic cooperation projects between the two countries, including the joint fighter jet development and South Korea's participation in Indonesia's 'electric car ecosystem establishment' proceed smoothly and achieve results," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by Yonhap news agency.

The two ministers also agreed to work together on revising Indonesia's import quota and the bilateral double taxation avoidance agreement as part of efforts to offer a better business investment environment for South Korean companies.

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