By Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for deeper defence ties with the United Kingdom on Wednesday as he met the visiting British deputy prime minister, with the two countries also kicking off a new round of trade negotiations this week.
Yoon met Oliver Dowden on the sidelines of the third Summit for Democracy, where they announced efforts to try to combat digital threats to elections and democracy.
The South Korean president said regular "2+2" meetings between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries will help formalise cooperation in defence and security, Yoon's office said in a statement, without elaborating.
Dowden and Yoon also discussed regional issues and agreed to agreed to work closely to ensure promote and defend democracy, the statement said.
The meeting came a day after South Korea and Britain began a second round of talks aimed at upgrading their free trade agreement, which was originally hastily drawn up in the wake of Brexit.
"I think there's a real opportunity, I see so much potential for the UK and Korea to work together," Dowden told Reuters in an interview in Seoul on Tuesday, noting particular shared interests in the high tech sector.
Swift trade negotiations with South Korea reflected a "very deliberate strategy" by Britain after leaving the European Union in 2020 to focus on Asia as one of the fastest growing parts of the world, he said.
During the second round of talks, which are being held in London, the Korean government aims to strengthen comprehensive and cooperative trade relations and discuss the introduction of new trade rules through negotiations on service, digital, SMEs and Good Regulatory Practices (GRP), South Korea's trade ministry said in a statement.
Dowden told Reuters he is also pressing every country he meets, including South Korea, to do more for the defence of Ukraine.
"If countries like Japan and Korea want to promote and protect their security as the United Kingdom does we have to show that aggression cannot prevail in Ukraine," he said.