South Korea discusses ways to bolster bilateral ties with New Zealand

Seoul, July 15 (IANS) South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters on Monday and discussed ways to bolster bilateral cooperation amid burgeoning ties between North Korea and Russia, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The luncheon meeting between Cho and Peters, who doubles as the Deputy Prime Minister, was held in Seoul to discuss high-level exchanges, practical cooperation in the economic sector, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and other major regional issues, the Ministry said in a press release, Yonhap news agency reported.

Both sides agreed that North Korea's continued provocations and the close ties between Pyongyang and Moscow pose a threat not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to global peace and stability.

The two stressed the importance of a unified response and cooperation from the international community and agreed to continue working closely together, the Ministry said.

They also acknowledged the significance of a joint statement issued by the leaders of South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand at last week's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.

The statement strongly condemned North Korea's weapons exports to Russia, casting them as an "illegal" action and warning of strong "strategic counteraction".

The two sides also agreed on the shared vision of peace, stability, prosperity, resilience, and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region and decided to explore ways to strengthen solidarity in the future, the Ministry said.