Catherine Ashton signs new agreement to deepen Strategic Partnership with South Korea
EU High Representative travelled to the Republic of Korea on 23 May. In Seoul she held meetings with the President and Foreign Minister. To consolidate the Strategic Partnership she also signed a new agreement on deeper cooperation in the field of foreign and security policy.
On 23 May EU High Representative Catherine Ashton made an official visit to the Republic of Korea. In Seoul she met President Park Geun-hye and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. They discussed a broad range of bilateral and international issues, including the state of the Strategic Partnership, security cooperation, non-proliferation and recent developments including the DPRK and North East Asia cooperation. They also spoke about recent developments in their respective neighbourhoods including the DPRK, North East Asia cooperation and other international issues, such as Ukraine, Iran and Syria.
To consolidate the legal and institutional framework governing EU-Korea relations, High Representative Ashton further signed a Framework Participation Agreement aimed at facilitating future Korean Participation in EU Common Security and Defence Policy operations. "The success of our Strategic Partnership in recent years gives me particular pleasure because I have been […] actively engaged in setting up the three main EU-Korea treaties that tie us together" she said in Seoul. "To be more effective in addressing the many challenges we face, we need to work with partners, we need to join forces".
South Korea will be the first country to have entered into a trio of agreements with the EU (trade, political and now security), which is testimony to the breadth and dynamism of the EU-Korea Strategic Partnership.
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