Korea, EU hold inaugural dialogue on security and defense
Youn Jong-kwon, center, ambassador for international cyber affairs, and Chung Seong-hoon, left, defense attache to the Korean Embassy in Belgium and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, pose with Benedikta Von Seherr-Thoss, managing director for peace, security and defense at the European External Action Service, during their inaugural security and defense dialogue in Brussels, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Korea has held its inaugural security and defense dialogue with the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, the foreign ministry said Thursday, in the follow-up to their launch of a bilateral security and defense partnership last year.
Youn Jong-kwon, ambassador for international cyber affairs, led the talks with Chung Seong-hoon, defense attache to the Korean Embassy in Belgium, on Wednesday (local time.) Representing the EEAS was Benedikta Von Seherr-Thoss, managing director for peace, security and defense.
The dialogue platform was launched as a follow-up step after Korea and the European Union forged a security and defense partnership in November last year to deepen cooperation in 15 key areas ranging from maritime security, cyber threats and anti-terrorism to arms control and space.
At the meeting, the two sides shared the view that the geopolitical situations in Europe and Asia-Pacific are becoming increasingly interconnected, and agreed to continue working together in the areas of their partnership.
Separately, Korea co-hosted earlier this week a two-day peace and security conference with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, the ministry said.
The OSCE is a regional intergovernmental security organization comprising member states in Europe, North America and Asia, focused on issues such as arms control and promoting human rights.
Kweon Ki-hwan, deputy foreign minister for global and multilateral affairs who attended the conference, underscored the need for joint responses between Europe and Asia to address new transnational security challenges, including artificial intelligence-based cyber threats.
While in Vienna, Kweon also met with OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu and discussed cooperation with the OSCE and security situations in Europe and the Korean Peninsula.