ISTANBUL

South Korea held its first security and defense dialogue with the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, according to a statement Thursday from its Foreign Ministry

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in partnership areas and noted that the geopolitical situations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Youn Jong-kwon, South Korea’s ambassador for international cyber affairs, Chung Seong-hoon, defense attaché to the Korean Embassy in Belgium, and Benedikta Von Seherr-Thoss, managing director for peace, security and defense at the EEAS, met Wednesday, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

Last year, the EU and South Korea established a security and defense partnership to boost cooperation in 15 areas, including maritime security, cyber threats, counterterrorism, arms control and space. The new dialogue was launched as a follow-up to that agreement.

Kweon Ki-hwan, South Korea’s deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, emphasized the need for Europe and Asia to work together to tackle emerging transnational security challenges such as artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cyber threats during a two-day peace and security conference that South Korea co-hosted with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna earlier this week.

Kweon also met with OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu to discuss cooperation with the organization and the security situation in both Europe and the Korean Peninsula.