S. Korea, Australia seek to strengthen security ties

South Korea and Australia will seek to expand security ties to emerging issues, such as epidemics and natural disasters, when their foreign and defense ministers meet in Sydney this week, a government official said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Defense Minister Han Min-koo, and their Australian counterparts, Julie Bishop and Kevin Andrews, are scheduled to meet for their second 2+2 talks on Friday.

Following their talks, the ministers plan to announce a "blueprint" for cooperation in security and defense. President Park Geun-hye and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called for such a blueprint during their summit talks in April last year.

"It will likely cover various areas in detail, including bilateral defense cooperation, dialogue channels and nonproliferation issues," the official told reporters on background.

Aside from the traditional security issues, such as military tensions between the two Koreas, the ministers will discuss emerging security threats, such as epidemics, illegal arms trafficking and natural disasters, as well as joint measures to cope with them, the official said.

Both Yun and Han will leave for Australia on Thursday.

From there, Yun will travel to New Zealand and Fiji, while Han will travel to the Philippines for meetings with their respective counterparts. (Yonhap)

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