Seoul, Feb 21 (IANS) South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has held talks with his British and Australian counterparts and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties with both countries, his ministry said Friday.
The meetings were held on Thursday (local time) in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Cho was visiting to attend the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting, the foreign ministry said.
During both meetings, Cho exchanged views on relations with the US under the new administration, the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea-Russia military cooperation and global security issues, and agreed to increase communication and cooperation, Yonhap news agency reported.
During talks with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Cho noted the global strategic partnership between their countries was prospering, while Lammy expressed hope for closer cooperation and deeper friendship, according to the ministry.
In a separate meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the progress and implementation plans for their joint project to build an environmentally friendly shipping route as well as bilateral cooperation in defence and defence manufacturing were reviewed.
Earlier in February, security scenarios in the Indo-Pacific and North Korea were discussed by the US, Japan, and South Korea on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference 2025.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul stressed their shared commitment to ensure the safety, security, and prosperity of the three countries and the Indo-Pacific region, a joint statement issued by the US State Department said.
Expressing their serious concerns over and the need to address together the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programmes and malicious cyber activities, they reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs).
–IANS
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