Paris: Defense officials from South Korea and France have reached an agreement to enhance strategic coordination in response to the growing military ties between North Korea and Russia, as announced by Seoul's defense ministry.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Kim Hong-cheol met with Guillaume Ollagnier, director-general for international relations and strategy at the French Ministry for the Armed Forces and Veterans, in Paris for a strategic dialogue. The discussions centered around security issues affecting the Korean Peninsula and Europe.

During the meeting, both sides exchanged assessments of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and agreed on the necessity of strengthening bilateral coordination, especially in light of the increasing connectivity between European and Indo-Pacific security concerns. Kim presented South Korea's policy focused on peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula and requested continued support and attention from France.

Further, they agreed to bolster the institutional framework for defense cooperation by revising the bilateral agreement on sharing classified military information. The officials also committed to improving military interoperability through combined exercises and other exchanges.