S. Korea, Philippines ink pact on protecting classified military info

South Korea and the Philippines on Monday signed a pact to protect classified military information in a bid to exchange military intelligence, Seoul's defense ministry said.

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Filipino counterpart Secretary Voltaire Gazmin signed the deal in Manila following their talks, according to the ministry.

Han arrived in the Philippines on Monday for a two-day visit following his trip to Australia for a so-called "two plus two" meeting among the two nations' defense and foreign chiefs.

The ministry said that the pact calls for exchanging comprehensive military information between Seoul and Manila, which will help them deepen military cooperation.

The move is a follow-up to a preliminary agreement on defense cooperation, which was reached during a summit between the two countries' political leaders in October 2013.

The ministry said that the ministers also agreed to increase exchanges of ranking military officials and beef up joint cooperation against non-traditional and transnational threats. (Yonhap)