South Korea, EU launch talks on classified information pact, condemn Russia-North Korea military ties

President Lee Jae Myung met with EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday, the second day of his European tour, and announced that South Korea and the EU had agreed to launch negotiations on a classified information protection agreement to strengthen security and defense cooperation between the two sides.

Lee made the announcement through a joint press statement following summit talks with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU Council headquarters in Brussels that afternoon.

"As uncertainty in the international order grows, security in the Indo-Pacific and security in Europe are becoming ever more closely interlinked," Lee said. He expressed hope that the classified information protection agreement would be concluded swiftly, enabling both sides to share sensitive information securely and to advance industrial and research cooperation on that basis.

Recognizing the EU as the world's largest trading bloc and South Korea's third-largest trading partner after the United States and China, the two sides also signed a Digital Trade Agreement to expand economic cooperation. The pact replaces the e-commerce provisions of the existing Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement with a Korea-EU Digital Trade Agreement and is designed to build a stable environment for data-driven business.

Lee said the agreement would allow faster processing through paperless trade and electronic authentication and signatures, improving convenience for citizens on both sides.

The two sides also concluded a Passenger Name Record transfer agreement. The presidential office said obtaining passenger booking data from airlines is essential for screening and inspecting high-risk travelers in advance, as the smuggling of dangerous items such as narcotics and firearms through international travel has been rising. Lee said through the joint press statement that he expects the agreement to "further strengthen cooperation between the two sides in preventing transnational crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking."

The two sides also agreed to deepen cooperation on carbon neutrality and the energy transition, and to expand joint research and researcher exchanges in fields including AI and quantum technology.

Pledging close cooperation for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community, Lee said he had asked the EU for its "unwavering support and constructive role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and establishing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."

He added that both sides agreed on the importance of swiftly restoring peace and stability in the Middle East, and of ensuring the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the free passage of vessels through it.

Immediately after the summit, the two sides adopted a Korea-EU Summit Joint Statement that strongly condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and North Korea for supporting it, and called for an immediate halt to the illegal military cooperation between the two countries.

In the statement, the leaders said they "condemn the support of third parties, in particular North Korea, that enables Russia to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine," adding: "We strongly condemn the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. We call on Russia and North Korea to immediately cease all related activities and to comply with the UN Charter and all relevant UN Security Council resolutions."

The statement marked an unusually sharp condemnation of North Korea for the current administration and expressed a strong commitment to the denuclearization of the North.

The statement said North Korea "will never be recognized as a nuclear-weapon state under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and cannot be accorded any special status in that regard," and expressed "serious concern over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs."