South Korea, Australia agree to strengthen defense ties

Seoul, May 30 (EFE).- The defense ministers of South Korea and Australia, Lee Jong-sup and Richard Marles, respectively, agreed Tuesday in Seoul to strengthen bilateral ties on defense, as well as other security-related issues.

Lee met with Marles, who is also deputy prime minister, in the South Korean capital, where the Australian politician has come to attend the summit between South Korea and Pacific island nations.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed to further strengthen bilateral relationship in defense and underlined the two countries were “key partners” that share common values within the Indo Pacific region, according to a statement by the South Korean defense ministry.

The two ministers agreed to revise a bilateral defense cooperation pact signed in 2011 in consideration of deepening ties and agreed to hold necessary working-level talks, it added.

This development comes after a meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the G-7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Lee expressed Seoul’s desire to participate for the first time in the Australian-led multinational exercise “Indo-Pacific Endeavour” as well as in “Operation render safe”, aimed at disposing of submarine explosives from World War II from the bottom of the Pacific.

The two ministers further agreed to meet again at the end of this year. EFE

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