Seoul, July 3 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held talks with Mark Rutte, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), on Thursday and discussed ways to deepen Seoul’s partnership with the transnational military alliance, Lee’s office said.

The phone call between Lee and Rutte came amid a recent agreement between Seoul and NATO to establish a working-level consultative body on defence industry cooperation.

Last week, South Korea and NATO agreed to establish a working-level consultative body on defence industry cooperation, the presidential office said. The agreement was reached during a meeting between National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the NATO summit held in The Hague.

During the meeting, Wi delivered a personal letter from President Lee Jae Myung, which explained the reason for his absence from this year’s summit and reaffirmed his commitment to deepening the partnership between South Korea and NATO, the office said in a release.

“Wi expressed hope that the Republic of Korea and NATO, which share the values of democracy and peace, will actively cooperate in response to complex global challenges,” the office said.

Wi also highlighted the strong potential for expanded cooperation in the defence industry, pointing to South Korea’s advanced defence capabilities, reported Yonhap news agency.

“The two sides agreed to establish a new director-general level South Korea-NATO defence industry consultation body to discuss specific measures to enhance cooperation in the defence sector,” it said.

On Wednesday, June 25, Wi took part in a separate session with Rutte and representatives from three other Indo-Pacific partners — Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The partners also agreed to continue advanced collaboration in securing supply chains, as well as in defence development, production and procurement, and pledged to work together on joint projects in space and maritime domains, as well as in munitions, according to the statement.

–IANS

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