First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo (right) and Hellen De La Vega, the Philippines' undersecretary of state for policy, shake hands during bilateral policy talks in Manila, in this photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry on Oct. 22, 2025. (Yonhap)
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo (right) and Hellen De La Vega, the Philippines' undersecretary of state for policy, shake hands during bilateral policy talks in Manila, in this photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry on Oct. 22, 2025. (Yonhap)

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the Philippines on Wednesday discussed cooperation against transnational crime during regular bilateral talks in Manila, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo met his Philippine counterpart, Hellen De La Vega, and called for strengthening cooperation with ASEANAPOL, a regional police organization, to tackle transnational crime, including scam centers operating in the region.

Park thanked Manila for making efforts to ensure the safety of South Koreans in the country, while asking for support for South Korean companies' participation in the Philippine military's modernization projects, according to the ministry.

South Korea has recently sought to better tackle crime against its citizens in Southeast Asia, following reports of its citizens being abducted and confined in Cambodia in connection with scam operations. (Yonhap)