S. Korea's defense chief meets top EU envoy, Dutch counterpart in Singapore

Diplomacy 21:51 June 03, 2023

By Chae Yun-hwan

SINGAPORE, June 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup met with the European Union's top diplomat and his counterpart from the Netherlands on Saturday for bilateral talks on security cooperation during an annual security forum in Singapore, his ministry said.

Lee held the back-to-back talks on the margins of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue, which kicked off Friday and brings together top security officials from over 40 countries, according to the ministry.

During the talks between Lee and Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, the two sides agreed to further develop defense and security cooperation discussed between their leaders in a summit meeting last month, according to the ministry.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup (R) shakes hands with Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, as they meet at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 3, 2023. (Yonhap)

Lee also asked for continued cooperation from the EU for peace on the Korean Peninsula as he explained North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, it said, adding they exchanged opinions on regional security issues, including the war in Ukraine.

"Shared alarm at continued DPRK provocations, and discussed Ukraine's needs for ammunition," Borrell said of the meeting in a tweet, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Prior to the talks with Borrell, Lee also met with his Dutch counterpart, Kajsa Ollongren, and the two sides discussed their cooperative defense ties, including ongoing efforts to sign a bilateral memorandum of understanding for defense cooperation, the ministry said.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperative ties in the cyber sector, with Ollongren voicing hopes to further develop bilateral arms industry cooperation, it added.