Page 200 - 2018 Defense White Paper

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the 2 round of defense vice-ministerial talks between the ROK and the Visegrad Group. 24) The
Vice Minister and the representatives of the member states of the Visegrad Group exchanged
views on regional security situations, and discussed ways to enhance defense cooperation and
defense industrial cooperation. The Vice Minister also held bilateral talks with the counterpart

of each member state, and explored ways of substantive defense cooperation and defense
industrial cooperation between the ROK and Central European countries that are considered
the new growth engine of Europe.

In September 2017, the ROK Vice Minister of National Defense met with the delegation
from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly during their visit to the ROK, and discussed ways to
enhance defense cooperation between the ROK and NATO, mainly in their common areas of

interest including cybersecurity cooperation. In the meeting, the ROK Vice Minister of National
Defense called for NATO’s cooperation in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
To enhance cooperation between the ROK and the EU, the Cheonghae Unit has participated
in the EU’s counter-piracy operations since 2017 in accordance with the ROK–EU basic

agreement on crisis management that took ef fect in late 2016. Moreover, in November 2017, the
2 ROK–EU Security Defense Dialogue was held. Substantive security cooperation between
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the ROK and the EU has been expanding, as seen in the ROK Defense Minister’s meeting with
the European Parliament foreign af fairs commissioner during the visit to the ROK in April
2018.
Meanwhile, in September 2017, the ROK Vice Minister of National Defense held talks with

Canada’s National Defense Department Deputy Minister who visited the ROK to attend the 6 th
SDD. The Vice Minister praised Canada’s hosting of the upcoming UN Peacekeeping Defense
Ministerial Conference in November 2017 as well as broader efforts that contribute to world

peace and security. In the meeting, the two sides agreed to expand and enhance the two countries’
friendship, and to enhance the interoperability of the two countries through continuous mutual
visits between their navies and combined maritime training.

While continuously cooperating with the EU and NATO, the MND will enhance bilateral
defense cooperation with the ROK’s long-standing partners, such as the United Kingdom

24) A regional partnership of Central Europe that consists of the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The name is derived from the Hungarian town of Visegrad, where their first meeting took place in 1991.

198 Chapter 5 Development of the ROK–U.S. Alliance, and Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation