MEP Paet meets with South Korean officials

Estonian MEP Urmas Paet (Reform/ALDE) along with colleagues from the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) met with South Korea's Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo and Speaker of the National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun on a visit to South Korea on Saturday.
The officials reaffirmed that South Korea is anticipating an agreement on the termination of the North Korean nuclear program from the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit.
Song said that North Korea with its nuclear program is endangering both South Korea as well as the entire world. In addition, he added, the repressions of the North Korean regime against its own people must not be disregarded.
According to Paet, the mood in South Korea ahead of the upcoming summit is cautiously optimistic, although they admit that the risks are great if nothing is achieved regarding the termination of the North Korean nuclear program.
At his meeting with Song, Paet, the European Parliament's rapporteur on EU cyber defense policy, raised the need for cooperation between Europe and South Korea in the field of cyber defense, as the field is highly developed in South Korea, but the risks are international. The South Korean minister agreed that cooperation in this field is very necessary.
During his visit, Paet also visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "The atmosphere there was crushing, while march music and aggressive propaganda talk was constantly played from loudspeakers on the North Korean side," he described.
North and South Korean leaders are scheduled to meet at the DMZ on April 27 to try to alleviate tensions between the neighboring countries.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS