Hanoi (VNA) – The 11th Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) defence policy dialogue took place in Hanoi on April 23, reviewing results of the countries’ cooperation in the field, discussing matters of shared concerns, and agreeing on orientations for joint work in the time to come.

Deputy Minister of National Defence Hoang Xuan Chien and his RoK counterpart Kim Seon Ho co-chaired the event.

Chien said that the bilateral ties have been enhanced across areas, including defence, following the upgrade of the Vietnam-RoK relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022.

He noted that with support from their leaders, the countries’ defence cooperation has reaped practical outcomes regarding delegation exchanges, education-training, dialogue and consultation mechanisms, defence industry, military trade, war aftermath alleviation, cybersecurity, military medicine, and UN peacekeeping. The sides have also consulted and backed each other at related multilateral forums and mechanisms, particularly ASEAN-led mechanisms.

He recommended they continue to foster joint work in these spheres, and affirmed that the Vietnamese defence ministry is willing to host senior officers from the RoK attending training courses at the National Defence Academy and Vietnamese language courses at the Military Science Academy in Vietnam. 

He took the occasion to thank the RoK Government for granting a total of 34 million USD for two projects on tackling wartime bombs in Vietnam.

For his part, Kim stated the RoK wants to expand its defence collaboration with Vietnam and proposed the sides maintain current joint activities and explore new cooperation areas based on their friendship.

At the dialogue, the officials exchanged views on the global and regional situations of mutual concerns.

Regarding the East Sea issue, Chien emphasised that Vietnam remains steadfast in resolving all disputes through peaceful means, based on international law and commitments in the region, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the ASEAN six-point principles on the East Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the waters (DOC), and the promotion of substantive and effective negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). On the situation on the Korean Peninsula, he said Vietnam maintains its stance against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and supports the denuclearisation of the area and the resolution of issues through peaceful dialogue.

The deputy ministers also signed the dialogue’s minutes./.