South Korean tobacco maker KT&G said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Philip Morris International, the global leader in smoke-free cigarettes, to collaborate on regulatory submissions in the US prior to officially launching its products there.

Focused on KT&G's heated tobacco products, this agreement demonstrates both companies’ commitment to collaborating on the premarket tobacco product application process with the US Food and Drug Administration, according to the company.

Until gaining approval from US regulators, KT&G’s future heated tobacco products will first be launched in countries outside the US.

KT&G explained that this partnership also reflects both companies' recognition of the US market's importance as they have been refining their strategic visions to provide heated tobacco products on a global scale.

Previously in January 2023, KT&G and Philip Morris entered an agreement in which Philip Morris obtained the rights to commercialize KT&G’s heated tobacco products, including the "lil" brand, in overseas markets.

“KT&G is focusing on the three core businesses, including next-generation (lil) products, overseas sales of our cigarette products, and health-functional foods, to drive global expansion and structural business reform,” KT&G CEO Bang Kyung-man said.

“We will do our best to achieve the future vision of becoming a ‘global top-tier’ company, based on our innovative NGP products to be rolled out in overseas markets as well as our research and development capabilities.”

Looking ahead, KT&G aims to achieve 1.5 trillion won ($1.08 billion) in annual sales of its next-generation products by 2025, establishing the lil brand as a top-tier heated tobacco product on the global stage.

In 2023, KT&G sold a total of 779.4 billion won of its next-generation products, including approximately 13.9 billion units of heated tobacco sticks and 7 million related devices, across both domestic and overseas markets.