▲ Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-Chul (L) meets with Fiji's Defense Minister Inia Btikoto Seruiratu at the defense ministry in central Seoul on Oct. 13, 2022, in this photo provided by Shin's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Fiji-defense officials

Senior S. Korean, Fijian officials discuss defense cooperation

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- Senior defense officials of South Korea and Fiji held talks in Seoul on Thursday to discuss bilateral security cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said.

The talks between Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul and Fiji's Defense Minister Inia Btikoto Seruiratu came as Seoul is striving to bolster cooperation with Pacific island countries.

Shin expressed expectation that South Korea will deepen ties with Fiji, which serves as this year's chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, an intergovernmental body aimed at enhancing cooperation among island countries in the region.

In turn, Seruiratu voiced hopes that the two countries' defense cooperation will be revitalized on the back of a bilateral defense cooperation arrangement signed in 2017.

Shin also asked for Fiji's support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southern city of Busan.

The two countries last held a senior-level defense meeting in 2017.

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