South Korea, Australia agree to step up defence cooperation

• South Korea and Australia’s defence chiefs agreed on Tuesday to step up defence cooperation, South Korea’s defence ministry said.
• Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup met his Australian counterpart Richard Marles on the sidelines of the inaugural S. Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul.
• Lee expressed the South Korean military’s willingness to join the Indo-Pacific Endeavour, an Australian-led multinational military drill, as well as Operation Render Safe, activities by the Australian Defense Force to remove underwater mines in the Pacific.
• The two countries agreed to hold working-level meetings as part of steps to revise a memorandum of understanding signed in 2011 aimed at enhancing defense industry cooperation.
• Marles also met with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and discussed joint efforts to expand cooperation with the Pacific Islands countries, a presidential spokesperson said.

External Link : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-australia-agree-step-up-defence-cooperation-2023-05-30/