Members of the delegation from the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) pose with South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, front row third from right, during their visit to Seoul, Dec. 19. Front row third from left is Lukas Mandl of Austria, vice chair of SEDE who led the delegation, and second from right is EU Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo-Fernandez. Yonhap

By Kwon Mee-yoo

A delegation from the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) visited South Korea earlier this week to explore new opportunities in the fields of security and defense.

The six-member delegation had meetings with various South Korean organizations, including the National Assembly, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security, as well as defense industry officials.

The delegation also paid a visit to the Demilitarized Zone to observe the security situation of the Korean peninsula as tensions have been rising.

After the visit, Lukas Mandl of Austria, vice chair of SEDE who led the delegation, said in a statement, "Dialogue is the only way to peace, freedom and prosperity for the peninsula and therefore we welcome the [South] Korean government's new 'bold initiative.'"

Mandl added that denuclearization is part of the so-called "critical engagement" of the European Union (EU) and EU will support the initiative, regardless of the ruling or majority party in South Korea, during a meeting with media at the National Assembly, Dec. 19.

"(The Korean peninsula) is divided and the delegation for the Korean peninsula of the European Parliament covers both of these states. As I always emphasize, EU sees itself very engaged as a facilitator in this critical engagement," he said.

"North Korea was very present in our talks today in Seoul. It seems to be very important to me to always remind them and emphasize that we want to align with our strong partner, South Korea, when it comes to our approach to be a facilitating factor when it comes to North Korea," Mandl added.

In addition to Mandl, the delegation consists of Zeljana Zovko from Croatia, Dragos Tudorache from Romania, Anna Fotyga from Poland, Fabio Massimo Castaldo from Italy and Sven Simon from Germany.

As a delegation from the European Parliament, the core part of their visit was the exchange with the members of the National Defense Committee of South Korea's National Assembly.

"At least from our side, but obviously also from our partners of the South Korean side, the take of Putin Russia, against all the free world is on the forefront when it comes to the question of security and defense and what's on our mind on a daily basis and something we have to take in each and every day," Mandl said.

"I would say the bloodless defense against the bloody war, in terms of sanctions, what all the free world is doing, and we can we can never thank South Korea too much for joining the sanctions, especially when it comes to blocking strategic materials delivery into not only Putin Russia but also into Belarus, which is very important in terms of European circumstances."

Mandl emphasized the strength of the partnership between the EU and South Korea, stating that it is one of the strongest partnerships in the world, and expressed a desire to further strengthen the relationship.

"The framework of EU long-term security policies is called the Strategic Compass... During the talks with the Parliament of South Korea, I have recommended to consider an involvement of South Korea in the so-called Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which is a kind of military cooperation," he said.

Non-EU member states such as the United States, Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom are also taking part in the PESCO and the Austrian politician suggested that South Korea's participation in the framework could strengthen the ties even further.

The parliamentarians expressed high hopes for South Korea's new Indo-Pacific strategy, stating that it is a positive step towards contributing to peace and prosperity in the world and provides a good foundation for cooperation.

"(We welcome) [South] Korea to have a strategy in place in order to contribute positively in terms of peace and prosperity to the world. This is very good grounds for cooperation," Mandl said.