FMs of Korea, Australia agree to expand ties

SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- Foreign ministers of South Korea and Australia Friday agreed to expand cooperation on economic and security issues following North Korea's long-range rocket launch that was condemned by the international community as seriously violating a U.N. Security Council resolution, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

"Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith held talks
in Tokyo Friday and exchanged their views on the North Korea nuclear issue and
security conditions on the Korean Peninsula," the ministry said in a press
release.
Both Yu and Smith are in the Japanese capital for an international donors'
conference on Pakistan.
"Minister Yu noted Australia's support for a unified and stern reaction from the
international community against the North's firing of a long-range rocket, while
Minister Smith said his country will continue to work closely with South Korea to
help secure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," it said.
North Korea launched a long-range rocket last Sunday in what it claimed was a
space development program to put an experimental communications satellite into
orbit.
The U.N. Security Council this week anonymously adopted a presidential statement,
urging the communist nation to refrain from any further missile tests.
Pyongyang is prohibited from any missile-related activities under U.N. Security
Council Resolution 1718 that was adopted in 2006 following the North's first
nuclear test.
The South Korean and Australian foreign ministers also agreed to expand economic
relations between their countries by concluding negotiations for a free trade
agreement (FTA) at an early date, the ministry said.
Seoul and Canberra are expected to launch official FTA talks before the end of
June, while officials here say the sides will likely sign a deal before the end
of the year.