South Korea and the Indo-Pacific partners of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) discussed expanding cooperation to counter North Korea's escalating provocations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday.

The NATO-Indo Pacific Partners Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Thursday and Friday, brought together senior officials from NATO member states and Asia-Pacific partners, including South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

During the meeting, Park Yong-min, deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, stressed the need to take a "stern joint response" against the North's missiles and nuclear provocations, pointing out that it is a global issue threatening the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime.

Separately, Park also met Lithuanian Vice Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas and pledged to continue providing support for the restoration of peace in Ukraine.

Source: Yonhap News Agency