Text fwd: S. Korea, Australia Adopt Security Pact

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S. Korea, Australia Adopt Security Pact
By JUNG SUNG-KI
Published: 5 Mar 14:55 EST (19:55 GMT)

SEOUL - Leaders of South Korea and Australia announced March 5 a pact aimed at improving the two nations' defense and security relations.

According to a joint statement issued at the end of the Canberra summit between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, both countries pledged joint efforts on global disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The two countries will "continue to expand cooperation on global disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery,'' the statement said.

The two Asia-Pacific allies will also join forces to counter a range of global security threats, including terrorism, drug smuggling, people and weapon trafficking, and piracy, it said.

The pact calls for increasing joint military training exercises and peacekeeping operations, as well as military-to-military exchanges and cooperation in defense industry, including the exploration of airborne early warning and control aircraft.

To establish closer defense relationships, Lee and Rudd agreed on a separate "treaty-status" accord that would protect the sharing of classified military information, such as trade deals on defense goods, according to the statement.

"I believe that when we have a future-oriented relationship, security issues must also be discussed and through such cooperation in the security area, we can ensure the peace and security of the region," Rudd said in a joint press conference after the summit talks.

The Australian leader urged North Korea to halt "threatening language" and return to six-party talks over its nuclear weapon program.

"I think it would be very wise for the regime in Pyongyang to get back properly to the negotiating table through the six-party talks and to adopt a reasonable posture to bring about a long-term, peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula," he said.

As for the North's recent moves to test-fire a long-range missile capable of hitting U.S. soil, he said the communist state must be "very mindful" of the relevant U.N. Security Council resolution.

He apparently was referring to the council's Resolution 1718, adopted after the North test-fired several missiles off the eastern coast toward Japan in 2006, including a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile believed to have a range of 6,700 kilometers. The resolution prohibits North Korea from any missile-related activities.

Lee arrived in the Australian capital city earlier in the day as part of his regional trip that has already taken him to New Zealand and will end in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta.