S. Korea and NATO hold 1st military staff talks

▲ Maj. Gen. Kim Su-kwang (C), head of the directorate of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and Lt. Gen. Francesco Diella (5th from L), director of NATO's cooperative security division, take a group photo as they take part in military staff talks between the two sides on Feb. 13, 2023, in this photo provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

JCS-NATO-talks

S. Korea and NATO hold 1st military staff talks

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held their first military staff talks in Seoul this week, officials said Tuesday, in a sign of growing security cooperation between the two sides.

Maj. Gen. Kim Su-kwang, a senior official at the directorate of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and Lt. Gen. Francesco Diella of the Italian Army, director of NATO's cooperative security division, led the two-day session that began Monday, according to the JCS.

The meeting was launched as the two sides have agreed on the need for such regular talks during their high-level talks in 2021 and last year.

During this week's meeting, the two sides discussed cooperation procedures, shared strategic security concepts and assessed progress in bilateral cooperation, the JCS said, touting "meaningful" progress from the gathering.

In a regular press briefing, JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said the meeting did not touch on the issue of sending weapons support to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The two sides plan to hold their next session in Belgium next year.

Later in the day, the NATO delegation plans to visit the inter-Korean border truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, separating the two Koreas, in order to enhance their understanding of the security situation of the peninsula and encourage troops stationed there, the JCS added.

"This visit was very meaningful as it laid the foundation for military cooperation between South Korea and NATO," Diella was quoted as saying by the JCS.

South Korea has recently strengthened its ties with the transatlantic alliance as demonstrated in the opening of its diplomatic mission to NATO in Brussels last November.

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