ISTANBUL

South Korea and NATO held high-level discussions on improving cybersecurity cooperation, Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, citing the country’s Foreign Ministry.

The cyber talks, which took place Thursday in Seoul, were led by South Korean Ambassador for International Cyber Affairs Lee Tae Woo and Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber.

The two sides agreed to enhance collaboration in countering cyber threats and to assess cybersecurity risks in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.

South Korea and NATO launched the high-level cyber dialogue in 2023 in an effort to bolster cooperation in the cybersecurity sector.

The development came after South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and head of the NATO Military Committee Giuseppe Cavo Dragone on Tuesday discussed ways to strengthen defense and defense industry cooperation during the Seoul Defense Dialogue.

Dragone agreed to substantive cooperation between South Korea and NATO that would “deepen and expand in various fields, including defense and military exchanges, information sharing, cyberspace, space and artificial intelligence,” according to a statement from South Korea’s Defense Ministry.