South Korea, Australia agree to step up defence cooperation

South Korea and Australia's defence chiefs agreed on Tuesday to step up defence cooperation, South Korea's defence ministry said.

Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup met his Australian counterpart Richard Marles on the sidelines of the inaugural S. Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul. Lee expressed the South Korean military's willingness to join the Indo-Pacific Endeavor, an Australian-led multinational military drill, as well as Operation Render Safe, an underwater anti-mine drill in the Pacific.

The two countries also agreed to hold working-level meetings as part of steps to revise a memorandum of understanding signed in 2011 aimed at enhancing defense industry cooperation.