Defense chief, EU ambassador vow to boost security ties, defense exchanges

Defense Minister Suh Wook met with the European Union's ambassador to South Korea on Wednesday and discussed ways to boost security cooperation including in anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia, his office said.

During the meeting in Seoul, Suh and Maria Castillo Fernandez exchanged their assessments of the security circumstances on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and Fernandez vowed to do her best to help establish peace, according to the ministry.

They also had consultations on how to cooperate for anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and the adjacent region, as well as their plan to hold security talks and push for exchange programs for their high-level military members, it added.

South Korea's Cheonghae Unit has been on anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia since 2009, and it recently expanded its mission areas to include the Strait of Hormuz.

Suh asked for the EU's participation in the upcoming annual international security forum, named Seoul Defense Dialogue, and the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference set to take place in December in Seoul.

The ambassador pledged the EU's active support to help enhance multilateral security cooperation, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)