(MENAFN) Seoul and European External Action Service (EEAS) officials convened Wednesday in Brussels for their inaugural security and defense talks, signaling an escalating commitment to transatlantic-Indo-Pacific strategic alignment amid intensifying regional tensions.

The landmark meeting—disclosed Thursday via South Korea's Foreign Ministry—brought together Youn Jong-kwon, Seoul's ambassador for international cyber affairs; Chung Seong-hoon, defense attaché at the Korean Embassy in Belgium; and Benedikta Von Seherr-Thoss, the EEAS managing director for peace, security and defense, per reporting by media.

Negotiators underscored a critical realization: European and Asia-Pacific security challenges are now inextricably linked. Both parties committed to reinforcing collaborative efforts across shared strategic priorities.

The dialogue represents a concrete follow-up to last year's formal security and defense partnership framework, which identified 15 cooperation pillars spanning maritime security, cyber threats, counterterrorism, arms control, and space operations.

In parallel developments this week, Kweon Ki-hwan, South Korea's deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, spotlighted mounting transnational threats while co-hosting a two-day peace and security conference in Vienna alongside the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Kweon underscored the urgency: "Europe and Asia to work together to tackle emerging transnational security challenges such as artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cyber threats."

Kweon additionally engaged OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu to advance bilateral cooperation and assess security dynamics across Europe and the Korean Peninsula.

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