South Korea and Australia were set to hold “two plus two” talks among their foreign and defense ministers Wednesday, as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, defense and other areas.
The talks will take place in the southeastern Australian city of Melbourne, the first such high-level gathering between the two countries in more than two years.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Shin Won-sik will hold talks with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles.
Cho and Shin will also meet bilaterally with their respective counterparts. The four ministers will hold a joint press conference after the talks and issue a joint statement.
The South Korean ministers have been on a weeklong visit to Australia.
Announcing the planned talks Monday, the Australian government said the four-way meeting will “advance our shared interest in promoting peace and prosperity in our region, deepening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and globally, and growing
defense and security ties.”
The talks will come more than two years after the last such meeting took place in Seoul in September 2021. The following session had initially been scheduled for October last year, but it was canceled amid tensions in the Middle East that prompted countries to attend to the urgency of the situation.
Australia is the only country with which South Korea holds regular talks of the foreign and defense chiefs besides its ally, the United States.
During the talks, the two sides are expected to discuss a broad range of issues of common interest, from deepening cooperation in the Indo Pacific — a key strategic area for both countries — and in the defense sector as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Also drawing attention is whether the talks will touch on the possibility of South Korea participating in one of the two pillars of the AUKUS security partnership, comprising Australia, Britain and the U.S.
AUKUS, launched in September 2021, is largely seen as a group of like-
minded countries formed to counter China’s assertiveness.
In March, a U.S. official said South Korea is one of a few countries considered potential partners for cooperation in AUKUS high-tech areas, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and hypersonics.
Source: Yonhap News Agency