South Korea and Australia agreed Tuesday to launch an “economic security dialogue” aimed at enhancing communication and cooperation in the economic security field between the two countries, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
The agreement was reached during bilateral talks in Seoul between Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yu and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, the ministry said in a release.
The chief secretary for economic security from the presidential office and the deputy secretary from Australia’s Foreign Ministry will serve as chief representatives for the new dialogue, it said. The inaugural meeting is scheduled to be held in Seoul.
The two sides also agreed to pursue a “climate dialogue” led by the climate change ambassadors of their respective foreign ministries and to explore joint projects in the infrastructure sector of the Indo-Pacific region.
Before the meeting, Wong paid a visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, condemning North Korea’s military pact with Russia as “destabilizing and risky for the world.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new treaty on partnership during their summit in Pyongyang in June. The mutual defense pact calls for them to provide military and other assistance “without delay” if either country is invaded or enters a state of war.
Regarding South Korea’s potential participation in the AUKUS security partnership, Wong said such interest “is a reminder that we need a strategic balance in the region.”
The AUKUS partnership, launched in September 2021, has drawn attention in South Korea after a U.S. official in March mentioned South Korea and Japan as potential partners under consideration by AUKUS members to cooperate in high-tech areas, known as Pillar 2, which covers quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and hypersonics.
