Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (second from left) on Dec. 10 speaks at a news conference after the fourth Republic of Korea-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers' 2+2 Meeting in Sydney. From left are Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Kang, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds.

The foreign and defense ministers of Korea and Australia have urged North Korea to stop actions that heighten military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and to resume inter-Korean dialogue and talks with the U.S.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo on Dec. 10 attended the fourth Republic of Korea-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers' 2+2 Meeting in Sydney with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defense Minister Linda Reynolds. The four officials discussed bilateral cooperation in diplomacy, security and peninsula issues.  

In a joint news conference after the meeting, Jeong said, "We express strong concern over North Korea's continued launches of ballistic missiles and the testing of rocket engines in the (North's) Dongchang-ri area in the western sea."

"The defense ministers of both countries (South Korea and Australia) strongly urge North Korea to immediately stop actions that increase military tension by responding to the efforts of the (South) Korea-U.S. alliance and international society to solve problems through dialogue."

Kang added, "We will continue close cooperation so that the hard-earned momentum of dialogue can lead to practical progress in the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of a permanent peace through early resumption of talks between Pyeongyang and Washington."

Payne and Reynolds lauded Seoul's efforts to advance inter-Korean relations and reaffirmed their active support for an inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sept. 19 last year, an accord meant to ease tensions on the peninsula.

The four ministers also agreed to search for methods of bilateral strategic cooperation in diplomacy, security, economy and development by combining Seoul's New Southern Policy and Sydney's Indo-Pacific strategy.

The foreign and defense ministers of Korea and Australia on Dec. 10 lay wreaths at the Korean War Memorial of Sydney's Moore Park.