South Korea, EU hold inaugural defense and security dialogue in Brussels

South Korea held its first security and defense dialogue with the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, according to a statement Thursday from its Foreign Ministry

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in partnership areas and noted that the geopolitical situations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Youn Jong-kwon, South Korea's ambassador for international cyber affairs, Chung Seong-hoon, defense attaché to the Korean Embassy in Belgium, and Benedikta Von Seherr-Thoss, managing director for peace, security and defense at the EEAS, met Wednesday, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

Last year, the EU and South Korea established a security and defense partnership to boost cooperation in 15 areas, including maritime security, cyber threats, counterterrorism, arms control and space. The new dialogue was launched as a follow-up to that agreement.

Kweon Ki-hwan, South Korea's deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, emphasized the need for Europe and Asia to work together to tackle emerging transnational security challenges such as artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cyber threats during a two-day peace and security conference that South Korea co-hosted with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna earlier this week.

Kweon also met with OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu to discuss cooperation with the organization and the security situation in both Europe and the Korean Peninsula.