South Korea, EU agree to boost security ties

South Korea and the European Union agreed Monday to deepen defense and security cooperation to better deal with regional and global challenges, the Defense Ministry said.

The agreement came after a meeting here between South Korea's Defence Minister Han Min-koo and Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.Mogherini arrived here earlier in the day for a two-day visit, according to South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency.

"The two sides explored ways to work together in practical terms in defense and security fields while evaluating their partnership agreement on crisis management signed in May last year," the ministry said in a release.

Under the arrangement, South Korea and the EU vowed joint efforts in coping with natural disasters, piracy control and peacekeeping activities in global hot spots.

During the talks, the two also checked their joint preparedness for the inaugural defense policy consultative meeting slated for the second half of this year in Seoul.

The regular bilateral meeting to be co-organized by Seoul's defense ministry and the European External Action Service "will be the venue for the two sides to exchange opinions on issues of mutual interests, to share information and to boost capabilities for joint responses to challenges," the statement said.

Following the meeting with Han, Mogherini is scheduled for talks with her counterpart, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.